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Will Biden and Trump Face Off Over Crypto Tonight?
The amount of airtime crypto gets during Thursday’s debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump could sway a significant slice of single-issue voters.
The regulatory treatment of digital assets became a rallying cry for former President Trump, who went from Skeptical about Bitcoin for one “Crypto President” in recent weeks. Still, many wonder if Trump, along with the talk, will push for crypto in front of millions of Americans.
Traders in the decentralized prediction market Polymarket are calculating a 61% chance, as of this writing, that Trump would mention Bitcoin or crypto during Thursday’s debate. So far, the bet has yielded $127,000 in bets, as well as other words Trump could utter into his microphone.
Hosted by CNN, Trump could leverage the debate as a high-profile opportunity to criticize the Biden administration’s treatment of digital assets. Under the current leadership, the industry has faced a increase in scrutiny which emerged after the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2022.
Lawsuits filed against major crypto companies like Coinbase under Biden-appointed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler have also angered the entire industry.
Trump’s recent embrace of crypto can be traced back to a gala last month. At an event at Mar-a-Lago for holders of his Trump-themed NFTs, Trump signaled that he was “good” with cryptocurrencies, while attacking Gensler as someone who “is completely against it.”
Since then, the former president has begun accepting cryptocurrency donations, while also calling for more Bitcoin to be “Made in USA“During the latest appearance, Trump also dismissed central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), a digital form of currency that could it will soon be banned In the USA
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has clashed with cryptocurrency miners. A year ago, the White House defended a proposal that would apply a 30% excise tax on electricity consumed by mining companies because they “would not have to pay the full cost they impose on others.”
The abrupt approval of Ethereum ETFs in sight in May, however, has left analysts speculating that political pressure was a motivating factor behind the last-minute turnaround. There are also reports that the Biden administration recently sought guidance in crypto from industry participants.
Still, Biden stood by the SEC when he vetoed a bill last month that was supposed to erase guidance for banks on digital asset custody. Known as Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121, Biden he wrote he “would not support measures that endanger the well-being of consumers and investors.”
While the SEC guidance was ultimately upheld, there was language in Biden’s statement suggesting he and Trump might agree on a crypto-related matter.
“My Administration looks forward to working with Congress to ensure a comprehensive and balanced regulatory framework for digital assets,” Biden wrote, adding that this would “help reinforce United States leadership in the global financial system.”
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.