Former President Donald Trump told the audience at a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville, Tennessee, over the weekend that he wants to turn the U.S. into the “crypto capital of the planet.”
The remarks thrust digital currency into the forefront of a presidential campaign in which both major candidates are seeking to draw contrasts on hot-button issues. The political attention comes during an upswing for bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, which has surged 60% in value this year.
Trump, who opposed crypto as president, has recently undertaken a campaign blitz in support of digital assets. By contrast, likely Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has remained quiet on the issue since President Biden ended his reelection bid more than a week ago and endorsed the vice president in his place.
“This is a really live issue,” Aaron Klein, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institute, told ABC News, pointing to key constituencies that disproportionately trade cryptocurrency, such as young voters.
MORE: Potential VP pick Tim Walz emerges as popular candidate among labor unions, sources sayIn response to ABC News' request for comment, the Trump campaign touted the candidate's support for crypto and the wider tech industry.
"As the Bitcoin conference demonstrated, President Trump wants our nation to regain the global lead for technology, innovation, and manufacturing. That includes crypto and other sectors," senior adviser Brian Hughes told ABC News in a statement. "Crypto innovators and others in the technology sector are under attack from Kamala Harris and the Democrats who've placed obstacles and unnecessary burdens in the way of our nation's next generation of industry leaders."
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment on the issue.
Here’s what to know about where Trump and Harris stand on cryptocurrency:
While in office, Trump sharply criticized crypto. In 2019, he derided digital assets in a post on X as “highly volatile and based on thin air.”
“Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade,” Trump added.
Lately, however, Trump has voiced full-throated support for crypto. Speaking at the annual Bitcoin Conference on Saturday, Trump vowed to ease regulation of cryptocurrency and establish the federal government’s first National Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Trump also said he would replace Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who many crypto proponents dislike for his robust approach to crypto regulation.
“Trump seems to have had a change of heart and is going all-in on crypto,” Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University who studies digital assets, told ABC News.
In recent weeks, Trump has received endorsements from some major figures in Silicon Valley who back crypto, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a prominent crypto supporter. Other Trump supporters include Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, billionaire crypto entrepreneurs who gained prominence in the early 2000s after suing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
In a post on X on Monday, Cameron Winklevoss said, "We’re going to make America and Bitcoin greater than ever before."
Prasad said Trump’s about-face on crypto aligns with his effort to appeal to Silicon Valley donors and signal a deregulatory approach toward business.
“He seems to view the crypto industry as a source of financing for this campaign and also as lining up with his anti-big government message,” Prasad said.
It remains difficult to discern exactly where Harris stands on crypto, experts told ABC News.
The Biden administration has been widely perceived as tough on crypto, they noted, citing the federal prosecution of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and cryptocurrency regulations enforced by Gensler. However, experts told ABC News, it isn't clear how closely Harris intends to align herself with Biden on the issue.
Democrats are divided over crypto policy, said Klein, of the Brookings Institute. Progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has been a forceful critic of crypto, for instance, while tech entrepreneur and Harris supporter Mark Cuban has sought a friendlier stance on digital assets, Klein noted.
“The Democratic party has a split,” Klein said.
MORE: Harris sees boost in favorability after Biden drops out of race: POLLHarris ultimately may seek to soften the Biden administration’s position on cryptocurrency, experts said. The Harris campaign has contacted top crypto firms in an effort to “reset” relations between the industry and the Democratic Party, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
“I suspect Harris’s campaign will have some level of strategic ambiguity between the Biden administration’s line and what the cryptocurrency industry wants,” Klein told ABC News.