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Will Biden and Trump clash over cryptocurrencies tonight?
The airtime crypto receives during Thursday’s debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump could sway a significant portion of voters on a single issue.
The regulatory treatment of digital assets has become a rallying cry for former President Trump, who moved from Skeptical about Bitcoin has a “President of Crypto” these last weeks. Still, many wonder if Trump, alongside his speech, will push for crypto in front of millions of Americans.
Traders in the decentralized prediction market Polymarket estimate that there is a 61% chance, as of this writing, that Trump will mention Bitcoin or crypto during Thursday’s debate. So far, the bet has raised $127,000, alongside other words Trump might say into his mic.
Hosted by CNN, Trump could use the debate to criticize the Biden administration’s treatment of digital assets. Under current leadership, the industry has faced a increased scrutiny which emerged after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in 2022.
Lawsuits filed against major crypto companies like Coinbase under Biden-appointed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler have also ruffled feathers in the 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 crypto, while attacking Gensler as someone who is “totally against it.”
Since then, the former president has started accepting crypto donations, while calling for more Bitcoin to be “made in the USA“In this latest appearance, Trump also disavowed central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), a form of digital currency that could will soon be banned in the USA
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has clashed with crypto miners. A year ago, the White House defended a proposal that would have imposed a 30% excise tax on electricity consumed by mining companies because they “do not have to pay the full cost they impose on others.”
The sudden approval of spot Ethereum ETFs in May, however, left analysts speculating that political pressure was a motivating factor behind the last-minute about-face. It also appears that the Biden administration has recently asked for advice on cryptography from industry players.
Biden nevertheless supported the SEC when he vetoed a bill last month that was expected to remove guidance for banks on custody of digital assets. Known as Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121, Biden wrote he would not “support measures that jeopardize the well-being of consumers and investors.”
Although the SEC’s guidance was ultimately upheld, there were elements of Biden’s statement that suggested he and Trump might see eye-to-eye on a crypto-related issue.
“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 strengthen U.S. leadership in the global financial system.”
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.