Palantir adviser Jacob Helberg recounted Trump’s statements during a June 6 San Francisco fundraiser, referring to Trump’s target as the “Biden-Gensler crusade against crypto.”
Trump also described himself as a “crypto president” at the event, according to tech executive and former Trump ambassador to Austria Trevor Traina.
Republican National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon said that Trump called crypto important and declared his support for the sector but did not outline a specific crypto policy.
He also spoke about Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren’s campaign against crypto.
Venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya hosted the Trump fundraiser, which raised $12 million. Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and unidentified Coinbase executives reportedly attended the event as well.
Trump and crypto
Trump has long held a critical stance on crypto but recently began to warm to it. In February, he acknowledged the need for regulation but noted that people are embracing Bitcoin and using it in payments. He conceded that he can “live with it one way or the other.”
In March, Trump said that he does not intend to stop people from using crypto.
He began to express an even stronger pro-crypto stance at a May 8 Mar-a-Lago event, where he criticized the Biden administration’s policies and said that anyone in favor of crypto had “better vote” for him. Trump’s campaign began to accept crypto donations on May 21, fulfilling a promise from the event.
The shift in Trump’s stance is reflected across the US political landscape as crypto becomes an increasingly important issue among voters. Recent surveys found that more than 20% of Americans have owned crypto and consider it a key issue.
The Biden administration reportedly began to create a crypto outreach effort around the time of Trump’s crypto push. The SEC’s stance on spot Ethereum ETFs also began to shift last month, reversing previously expected denials and culminating in May 23 approvals.
