Trump-crypto CEO meeting about appointments, BTC reserve

Trump’s latest industry rendezvous featured a conversation with Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek

December 17, 2024 03:30 pm

President-elect Donald Trump | Anna Moneymaker/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

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It’s been half a year since Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago meeting with bitcoin mining executives, and his engagement with the industry has persisted.

After vocalizing support for American BTC mining in June, Trump unveiled more crypto-related promises at Nashville’s Bitcoin 2024 conference.

Then, in November, the Wall Street Journal broke news about his scheduled meeting with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

The latest rendezvous? A conversation with Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek on Monday.

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“They discussed appointments related to the crypto industry, the Bitcoin reserve and the overall optimism for [the] US crypto market,” a person familiar with the conversation told Blockworks.

A Crypto.com spokesperson declined to comment on details.

We’ve seen Trump nominate crypto-friendly people (i.e. Howard Lutnick) to key positions and bring on a so-called crypto czar. The proposed national bitcoin reserve too remains something everyone is watching.

Lawmakers in Brazil and Japan have started discussing such purchases. Trump preaches American superiority, so setting out to win a BTC buying race wouldn’t be much of a stretch.

The president-elect indeed signaled a BTC reserve is being considered. MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor has said other countries would “stampede to keep up” should the US go this route.

You probably remember Saylor giving a presentation for Microsoft shareholders on why BTC is worth buying and holding. The question now is when he’ll give a similar one in the White House.

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