The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, announced late Tuesday afternoon that he would accept donations in Bitcoin, Ether, Dogecoin, Solana, and other cryptocurrencies. With this move, he has become the first major party candidate to embrace digital currencies. Earlier this month, the former president declared himself as the candidate for cryptocurrency at a Mar-a-Lago gala, propelling crypto into the 2024 campaign.
Cryptocurrency donations will be accepted through the Coinbase Commerce product. “MAGA [Make America Great Again] supporters, now with a new cryptocurrency option, will build a crypto army moving the campaign to victory on November 5th,” per the statement.
Trump’s recent stance on cryptocurrency is viewed as an attack on Democrats, who have historically been unsupportive of cryptocurrency. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in particular, campaigned against cryptocurrency. However, this year, even some Democrats are pro-cryptocurrency, distancing themselves from Warren’s stance.
Crypto has emerged as a political topic in this election year, with presidential candidate Trump making several pro-crypto statements during his campaigns. However, he has not yet declared how he plans to support cryptocurrency and blockchain growth through policies.
His position on cryptocurrency represents a significant U-turn. A few years ago, he denounced Bitcoin as “a scam against the U.S. dollar” and said the central bank digital currencies are “very dangerous.” In the past years, he said that crypto is “a disaster waiting to happen” and that he is “not a fan of it.” But now he says he is “good” with it.
