Benzinga - As the presidential race continues to heat up, the candidates are taking stances on issues to win votes. For Trump, cryptocurrency has been one point of emphasis, as he hopes to attract voters from the cryptocurrency community. Trump has increasingly involved himself with cryptocurrency over the past several years, taking the most crypto-positive stance yet at an NFT event at Mar-a-Lago.
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Trump invited a group of supporters to dine at Mar-a-Lago as a perk of purchasing his NFT project. Those who bought more than 47 of the $99 NFTs received an invitation to the dinner, where they had the chance to meet with the former president and ask him questions about his opinion of cryptocurrency.
When asked about how he plans to tackle cryptocurrency regulation if he is elected in November, Trump responded by saying, "Gensler is very much against it, the Democrats are very much against it. And I say this, a lot of people are very much for it…and I’m fine with it. I want to make sure it’s good and solid…but I’m good with it. If you like crypto in any form, and it comes in a lot of different forms, you better vote for Trump."
Trump also poked fun at Joe Biden, saying that he does not know what crypto is and simply wants to "get off the stage."
Directly mentioning Gary Gensler, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is also a point to note. Gensler has led crackdowns on many different cryptocurrency operations, most recently issuing a Wells notice to Robinhood.
The SEC has been seen by some cryptocurrency enthusiasts as a roadblock to adoption. Perhaps the most pressing way in which this is seen is through spot ETFs. While the SEC did approve spot bitcoin ETFs in January, there has been a huge delay and debate around whether or not ethereum should be considered a commodity or a security, which would impact the ability of sponsors to release spot ETFs.
While there is certainly a strong argument to say that the SEC is simply doing their diligence on novel assets with hopes of protecting Americans from fraudulent investments, others see it as an overbearing step into the right of Americans to invest in assets that they choose.
All this is to say that Trump disagrees with Gensler and believes that cryptocurrency should be available to Americans with fewer regulations. This is particularly important as the election draws closer and supporters are looking for veritable actions that would be taken if each candidate were to win. In Trump's case, this would mean a potential clash with the SEC to allow for increased access to cryptocurrency.
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