Bitcoin 2024 Conference: Trump Pledges to Fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler

Former U.S. President and crypto community’s favorite Donald Trump took the stage during the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. The presidential candidate addressed a packed and enthusiastic crowd and laid out his vision for the crypto industry. He covered a broad range of campaign policies, with a focus on cryptocurrency.

Trump electrified the audience when he declared his intent to replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler, a figure widely criticized in the crypto community for his stringent policies. The sector faces great difficulty with Gensler’s strategy, which treats most crypto tokens as illegally-issued securities.

Gensler has fined several cryptocurrency companies for securities violations, with fines reaching as high as $100 million. Moreover, others claim he has preconceptions about the crypto sector based on past remarks and behavior.

No Sale of BTC Holdings

Adding to the buzz, Trump promised to stop the sale of the 213,000 bitcoins—worth about $14.8 billion—that the U.S. government now controls from past enforcement efforts. “It will be the policy of my administration to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires into the future,” Trump said.

Beyond these headline-grabbing promises, Trump reiterated his commitment to commuting the sentence of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and halting the development of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by the U.S. government.

Trump is Pro-Bitcoin

He also spoke about fostering the development of stablecoins and supporting the bitcoin mining industry. “I will be the pro-innovation and pro-bitcoin candidate that America needs and that our citizens deserve,” Trump declared, closing his speech to enthusiastic applause.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price saw a dip, falling to $66,600, down nearly $3,000 from its daily high. However, the market quickly rebounded, and prices rose to about $68,500 shortly after the speech.

Gensler’s Exit Soon?

Interestingly, just days before Trump’s address, Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, predicted that Gary Gensler might resign within the first two months of 2025, following President Joe Biden’s term. Thielen suggested that Biden’s unexpected decision to withdraw from the election made Trump’s victory in January 2025 almost certain. However, this viewpoint was not universally shared by other industry experts.