Bitcoin 2024 — Day 3 live updates from Trump speech
This live blog is being actively updated with the latest updates from the Bitcoin 2024 conference.
Donald Trump pledges to axe Gary Gensler, make Bitcoin a strategic Treasury asset
Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump made waves at Bitcoin 2024, making a number of promises during his keynote address.
Trump vowed to fire current US SEC chair Gary Gensler on his first day back in office.
IYCMI - @realDonaldTrump made some bold promises at #Bitcoin2024:
✅ US Gov to HODL all #Bitcoin it holds and acquires in the future
Add Bitcoin to its strategic reserves
Free Ross Ulbricht
❌ Fire Gary Gensler pic.twitter.com/7wc5zQBKir — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 27, 2024
Trump also promised to ensure that the US government strategically holds over 200,000 BTC, which it has acquired mainly through enforcement actions, as a strategic asset.
He added that he would create a mandate to add Bitcoin to the US government Treasury reserve and reiterated that he would exonerate Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht should he retake the Oval Office.
Related: Trump pledges to fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler ‘on day one’ if reelected
Bitcoin 2024 hums ahead of Donald Trump address
18:48 UST: The final day of Bitcoin 2024 is a packed house as anticipation builds ahead of presidential candidate Donald Trump’s keynote address.
Just minutes away from @realDonaldTrump speech at #Bitcoin2024. Cointelegraph's team is inside the Nakamoto mainstage area - describing a palpable hum inside the venue ahead of the closing address of the conference. pic.twitter.com/95fry5eCK9 — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 27, 2024
Trump’s speech follows in the footsteps of Robert Kennedy Jr on July 26, who promised to make Bitcoin a ‘strategic reserve asset’ and vowed to spearhead a US effort to accumulate 4 million BTC.
Related: Trump to end war on crypto if elected, says US will be 'crypto capital of the world'
John Deaton takes aim at Elizabeth Warren
14:37 UST: US senate hopefuls opened proceedings on the conference's final day, with former US representative David McIntosh leading the conversation featuring Bernie Moreno, Sam Brown and John Deaton who’s taking on Elizabeth Warren in the Massachusetts’ race.
Deaton took a bold stance, reiterating his efforts to counter Warren’s “anti-crypto” rhetoric:
“I’m going against Elizabeth Warren who wants to ban the self-custody of Bitcoin in the United States …. George Orwell is rolling over in his grave.”
Related: US senate hopefuls look for crypto bump at Bitcoin 2024
21:48 UST: Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr wrapped up day two of Bitcoin 2024 with some bold promises should he become the next leader of the US.
RFK Jr vowed to transfer some 200,000 BTC currently held by the US government to be transferred as a strategic reserve asset to the US Treasury.
Robert Kennedy Jr on stage at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville.
Kennedy said he would also sign other executive orders, including directing the US Treasury to purchase 550 BTC daily until the US has built a reserve of at least 4 million Bitcoin:
“This would be a position of dominance that no other country can usurp. Our nation holds approximately 19% of global gold reserves, this policy will give us about the same proportion of total Bitcoin.”
Kennedy said the cascading impact would give Bitcoin a valuation of hundreds of trillions of dollars.
Related: No BTC strategic reserve announcement from Sen. Lummis — Bitcoin 2024
Snowden warns Bitcoiners of political interests
21:37 UST: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden delivered a sobering address virtually on the Nakamoto main stage in Nashville, highlighting the political undertones that have dominated the underlying agenda of the conference.
Snowden said politicians were trying to earn the “love” of Bitcoiners to pursue their own interests.
“They are not our tribe. They are not your personality. They have their own interests, their own values, their own things they’re chasing. Try to get what you need from them, but don’t give yourself to them, even if you have to vote for them.”
Related: ‘Cast a vote, but don’t join a cult’ — Edward Snowden at Bitcoin 2024
Normie, double or triple Maxi? Saylor predicts $13M per Bitcoin
20:23 UST: MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor kicked off a busy afternoon of keynote panels and speakers with a presentation that proved to be an investment pitch for Bitcoin from individuals all the way to nation states.
"Bitcoin could hit $13M per coin by 2045." @saylor delivered a bullish speech breaking down the investment thesis for #Bitcoin - with possible outcomes for retail investors, institutions and nation-states: pic.twitter.com/rM3i5UtCz8 — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 26, 2024
Saylor provided a host of interesting data points to back up a prediction that Bitcoin’s characteristics as digital capital could see BTC surpass $13 million per coin by 2045 as adoption grows:
“Bitcoin is $13 million a coin in 2045. It could be a $3 million bear case. It could be a $49 million in a bull case.”
Related: Michael Saylor ups Bitcoin price forecast to $13 million in mega-bullish keynote — Bitcoin 2024
Bitcoin to surpass gold's market cap - Anthony Scaramucci
18:17 UST: Skybridge founder Anthony Scaramucci gave a bold prediction for the future market capitalization of Bitcoin, suggesting that the asset class could 10x to surpass gold.
“It’s an asset class, therefore it shouldn’t trade to the market capitalization of NVIDIA or Apple. It’s got to trade to the market cap of gold, and I would argue that it's better than gold,” Scaramucci said.
“Bitcoin to trade above market cap of gold” - @Scaramucci says that institutional appetite for BTC and the ability for Wall Street to sell products to investors could see BTC be an eventual competitor to gold as a store of value as #Bitcoin2024 day 2 continues. pic.twitter.com/P1EQEMQ6Xh — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 26, 2024
The American businessman, a Bitcoin proponent and investor in, highlighted two significant reasons why BTC could rival gold's market cap. Scaramucci said major institutions, public and private, are more frequently making headlines for their BTC investments or holdings:
“The Jersey City mayor just said it would allocate 2% exposure for its pension fund into Bitcoin. The state of Wisconsin is saying they've got 150 million in Bitcoin”
Scaramucci said that 2025 could see asset managers discussing tactical asset allocation models for all institutional investors aiming at 1% to 3% exposure to Bitcoin.
Referring back to his days working on Wall Street for Goldman Sachs, Scaramucci added that Wall Street could also play a big role in driving investment in BTC.
“Wall Street is this magnificent selling machine. They get a hold of a product. They pick up the phone, call their clients, and explain to them why they need to own the product.”
Related: Bitcoin Market Cap to surpass gold—Anthony Scaramucci
Jan Van Eck - “Bitcoin is in my blood”
13:44 UST: The launch of Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and TradFi’s interest in the sector kicked off proceedings.
VanEck CEO Jan van Eck, whose firm was among those that successfully listed the first group of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, said the movement was one that resonates with him personally.
“Bitcoin I would say is in my blood. I say that because VanEck is was founded in 1955, but we also started the first gold mutual fund in the United States in 1968, before the big inflationary runup of the 70s,” Van Eck explained.
BlackRock digital assets lead Robert Mitchnick, VanEck CEO Jan Van Eck and BitWise CIO Matt Hougan discuss their firm's move into cryptocurrency investment products.
The firm’s CEO said that the history lined up with a time where it was illegal for Americans to hold gold bullion. His own family’s history have also given him an appreciation for the values being put forward by proponents.
“My mom is German and she was actually a refugee. She had to flee the communist secret police who were trying to arrest my grandfather. So I get why Bitcoin, I get why freedom.”
A recent research report from @vaneck_us suggests that Bitcoin could be valued at $2.9 million per coin by 2050 - and @JanvanEck3 reveals over 30% of his personal portfolio is in #Bitcoin: pic.twitter.com/jS1KR52H2V — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 26, 2024
Hougan also provided an interesting parallel between the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies and the early years of ETF. The Bitwise chief investment officer said that 20 years earlier, mainstream media outlets like the Financial Times were calling these investment products “weapons of mass destruction”:
“There were congressional hearings about ETFs destroying the American dream and people generally hated them. Fast forward to today. There's over $10 trillion in ETFs. And they've been accepted in mainstream.”
Hougan said that experiencing the transformation of a disruptive idea that people didn't trust being embraced over years could happen again:
“I think you see that same thing going on with Bitcoin right now.”
Related: Bitcoin mining will thrive under a Trump administration — MARA CEO
Secret Service screening causes delays as Bitcoin 2024 day 2 begins
13:26 UST: Day two of Bitcoin 2024 is underway in Nashville and a number of high-profile individuals are set to take the stage.
Robert Kennedy Jr takes the Nakamoto mainstage following a jam-packed line of speakers including MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor, ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood, US senators Cynthia Lummis and Tim Scott and whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Cointelegraph’s US news editor Sam Bourgi and Ana-Paula Pereira are on the ground and have reported far longer lines due to heightened security measures at the Nashville Music City Centre. Hundreds of attendees are lined up to enter the venue.
Bitcoin 2024 organizers warn attendees that the US secret service is screening bags to enter the mainstage. Source: TheBitcoinConf
The Bitcoin 2024 conference kicked off on July 25 in Nashville, Tennessee, with high-profile speakers, including Donald Trump, Russell Brand and Snowden set to draw record crowds.
2024 is year one of mainstream Bitcoin adoption — Michael Saylor
8:32 pm UST: As day one drew to a close, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor joined the event livestream ahead of his keynote speech scheduled at 7:00 pm on July 26.
The Bitcoin advocate said that 2024 will go down as “year one of mainstream institutional adoption of Bitcoin.” Saylor’s business intelligence firm owns over 200,000 Bitcoin (BTC) since it announced Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset in August 2020.
MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor alongside Cointelegraph Accelerator’s Kyle White at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville.
Saylor said he continues to receive calls from the CEOs of public companies and institutions interested in the Bitcoin-first investment approach, which Saylor has, in part, pioneered.
Meanwhile, Saylor intimated that the presence of two United States presidential candidates and other prominent senators could be a positive boon for Bitcoin:
“I think there’s a fair wind blowing for Bitcoin regardless. I really can’t see any administration in the future not embracing Bitcoin.”
Saylor added that it’s not a question of future governments being “pro-Bitcoin” but how “aggressively they’ll move” and whether “they move with alacrity or whether they move a bit more deliberately.”
The MicroStrategy CEO said the industry had passed an inflection point in January 2024 when it became clear that Bitcoin had become an institutional-grade digital asset.
“As Larry Fink has said, it has a place in every portfolio. It’s got enormous global appeal. It’s something that is unique and the world needs more of it,” Saylor added.
Jimmy Song criticizes conference, focus on TradFi and ETFs
7:26 pm: Bitcoin developer and advocate Jimmy Song took a firm line during a panel featuring mixed martial arts fighter Ben Askren, aptly titled “Make Bitcoin in America Great Again.”
The author criticized the presence of traditional finance institutions like BlackRock and the focus on banking, trading and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Bitcoin developer and advocate @jimmysong pulled no punches, criticizing the presence of TradFi players like BlackRock and a focus on BTC and ETH ETFs:
"I hate that this is what the Bitcoin conferences are talking about - banking, ETFs, BlackRock." pic.twitter.com/2f3ihYTE94 — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 25, 2024
“What makes Bitcoin great is liberty, freedom, self-sovereignty. Those are the things that this country was founded on. Unfortunately, because of the money and power of the money printing press, what we’ve gotten is an administrative state that rules over us and thinks that they’re better than us,” Song said.
He added that these undertones represent the interests of the rent-seeking class and the administrative state, which are contrary to the ideals of liberty, freedom and self-sovereignty.
“I hate that this is what the Bitcoin conference are talking about. Banking, ETFs, BlackRock. Those aren’t my values, those aren’t Bitcoin values, those aren’t American values.”
Related: Jimmy Song criticizes BTC 2024 speakers—'Not what makes Bitcoin great'
BlackRock clients are mainly interested in BTC, ETH
5:38 pm: BlackRock head of digital assets Michael Mitchnick unpacked the global asset manager’s move into cryptocurrencies through spot Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) ETFs in 2024 in conversation with Bloomberg’s James Seyffart.
Bloomberg’s James Seyffart alongside BlackRock’s Michael Mitchnick on the Nakamoto main stage.
“I would say that our client phase today, their interest overwhelmingly is in Bitcoin first. There’s definitely interest in Ethereum, too, but there’s very little interest today beyond those two.”
Mitchnick added that direct investors led demand when the ETF was introduced. BlackRock wealth advisory and institutional investors are still gathering momentum, according to the digital assets lead.
None of the large wealth advisory platforms, like Morgan Stanley, UBS and Merrill Lynch, has begun offering Bitcoin ETFs on a solicited basis yet, meaning that they will only offer the ETFs at the client’s request.
Bitcoin and Lightning still hold promise for retail banking
3:26 pm: Lightspark chief strategy officer Christian Catalini and Xapo Bank director of public affairs, policy and regulation Joey Garcia discussed the promise that Bitcoin and the Lightning Network will still significantly impact retail banking.
Lightspark’s Chris Catalini, Xapo Bank’s Joey Garcia and Nolan Bauerle discuss Bitcoin’s potential in the retail banking sector.
Catalini emphasized the ability of Bitcoin from its inception to seamlessly allow its users to transfer value globally across “more than 200 countries, every day, 24/7 with deep liquidity:”
“There’s only one asset and that asset is Bitcoin. It has regulatory clarity. It has on and off-ramps in pretty much every country around the globe.”
Related: VanEck says Bitcoin could hit $2.9 million per coin by 2050
The Trump factor
11:26 UTC: Cointelegraph’s US news editor Sam Bourgi and journalist Ana-Paula Pereira are on the ground covering the event with the latest insights, pictures and video from panels and interviews.
Cointelegraph US news editor Sam Bourgi, journalist Ana-Paula Pereira and Cointelegraph Accelerator’s Kyle White at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville.
The conference has garnered significant attention in the preceding weeks as prominent politicians joined the lineup of speakers set to feature at the event in Nashville.
Donald Trump is the headline speaker brandishing adverts around Nashville.
Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr are two major drawcards along other notable speakers like Michael Saylor, Cathie Wood, senators Marsha Blackburn, Cynthia Lummis