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Donald Trump Collaborates with Bitcoin Magazine CEO on Crypto Policy Agenda
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, is working with Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey on a comprehensive crypto policy agenda. In a May 11 post on X, Bailey revealed that he has been collaborating with Trump for a month to draft an executive order to be signed on “day 1” of Trump’s potential presidency.
“Day 1” coincides with Trump’s controversial comment in Iowa last December where he joked about planning to be a dictator, a remark he later told Time was made “in jest.”
Bailey also mentioned that he and other crypto industry leaders aim to raise a $100 million war chest for Trump’s campaign to ensure his return to the White House. This revelation comes as Trump, currently on trial in New York for allegedly falsifying business records, reverses his previous stance on Bitcoin, which he had labeled as a “scam” and “based on thin air.”
Trump, heavily reliant on campaign donations and political action committees (PACs) to cover his legal expenses—estimated to exceed $100 million—now seeks donations in cryptocurrency. At a May 9 event in Mar-a-Lago, Trump declared, “If you’re pro-crypto, you’ll support me because the other guys want to squash it.”
Bailey later emphasized, “It’s time for Bitcoin to elect the next President of the United States.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler face widespread criticism from crypto industry leaders, including Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson and billionaire Mark Cuban. Cuban criticized Gensler for creating obstacles for legitimate crypto businesses and urged Congress to address the issue with specific legislation.
Despite these criticisms, the Biden administration has not explicitly positioned itself as anti-crypto. In a September 2022 executive order, the White House cited the $50-billion crash of Terra and the subsequent wave of insolvencies, which wiped out over $600 billion of investor and consumer funds, as reasons to “harness” crypto potential responsibly.
The crypto industry has faced several scandals, including FTX’s bankruptcy and Binance’s recent hefty settlement with the U.S. government after former CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to violating U.S. money laundering laws. These incidents have made some American voters skeptical of crypto’s safety and reliability, according to the Pew Research Center.
However, Trump’s appeal to crypto enthusiasts aligns with polls showing that cryptocurrency is a significant issue among his likely supporters. A recent survey by DCG and Harris Poll indicated that about 20% of American voters in swing states consider crypto a key issue in the upcoming elections.
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