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Trump meets with Bitcoin miners in his latest pro-cryptocurrency overture
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Several Bitcoin miners met with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening, according to Matthew Schultz, executive chairman of cryptocurrency mining firm CleanSpark Inc.
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Published June 11, 2024 • Last updated 2 minutes ago • 2 minute read
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(Bloomberg) — Several Bitcoin miners met with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening, according to Matthew Schultz, executive chairman of cryptocurrency mining firm CleanSpark Inc.
Trump told attendees that he loves and understands cryptocurrency, adding that, according to Schultz, Bitcoin miners help stabilize the supply of energy from the grid. Trump said he would be a supporter of miners in the White House, Schultz added.
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In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said Bitcoin mining could be “our last line of defense against a CBDC,” referring to a central bank digital currency, adding that he wants all remaining Bitcoin to be ” MADE IN THE USA!!
In recent weeks, the former president has increasingly highlighted Bitcoin and other digital assets on the campaign trail as a way to reach new voters. He followed Elon Musk’s advice on the matter and pledged at a recent Libertarian Party convention to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the convicted founder of online marketplace Silk Road. His campaign is now also accepting cryptocurrency donations.
Jason Les, CEO and director of Riot Platforms Inc., also met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, according to a post on X.
Emissions, Grid
The meeting comes as cryptocurrency miners are in hot water over a range of issues, including climate change and their impact on local power grids. Democrats have led efforts to step up scrutiny of Bitcoin miners’ energy use and carbon emissions, while Texas Senator Ted Cruz has been a high-profile supporter of the industry.
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“Cryptocurrency innovators and other tech players are under attack from Biden and Democrats,” said Brian Hughes, a senior advisor to the Trump campaign. “As Biden stifles innovation with more regulation and higher taxes, President Trump stands ready to encourage American leadership in this and other emerging technologies.”
The cryptocurrency industry, meanwhile, is looking to support candidates seen as pro-digital assets, including through increasing donations to the Fairshake political action committee.
The United States has supplanted China as the epicenter of Bitcoin mining since 2021, when Beijing imposed a ban on the industry. The energy-intensive process involves using power-hungry computers to validate encrypted transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain, with rewards earned in the form of tokens.
(Updates with comment from Trump campaign in seventh paragraph)
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