Wealthy industry donors fuel Trump’s conversion on cryptocurrency

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Donald Trump deemed cryptocurrency “a scam” and a “disaster waiting to happen” during his term in office.

In the official Republican Party platform that Trump edited last week, he struck a different tone.

“Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and un-American crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency,” reads the platform, which was formally adopted Monday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “We will defend the right to mine Bitcoin, and ensure every American has the right to self-custody of their digital assets and transact free from government surveillance and control.”

The about-face comes after an aggressive campaign by wealthy cryptocurrency executives, who have lavished Trump’s campaign with donations, spent money at Mar-a-Lago to hold events, promised to hold fundraisers for his 2024 campaign and lobbied him with sharp criticisms of President Biden and his administration, according to eight people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations and fundraisers.

While seeking big checks from some of the country’s wealthiest Republicans, Trump has often promised donors at fundraisers to enact policies they would like — from cutting their corporate taxes to approving their oil permits to throwing pro-Palestinian demonstrators out of the country.

In recent months, Trump advisers say the former president has held numerous meetings about cryptocurrency with donors and prospective donors. His interest was piqued on cryptocurrency — a digital currency not tied to any central bank — when a group of donors came to Mar-a-Lago and said they would support his campaign and complained about Biden administration officials, including SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.

Trump recently attended another large fundraiser in California that was stacked with cryptocurrency executives, according to people who attended. Trump vowed to support their “innovation,” according to an attendee.

Trump and his campaign have met repeatedly with David Bailey, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, who has promised to hold Trump a $15 million fundraiser in Nashville later this month, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump is also expected to headline a cryptocurrency conference there, where he was sold on the idea of a large crowd and celebrities.

One of the private meetings Bailey had with Trump was in New York at Trump Tower this past spring during the former president’s criminal trial on business fraud charges, according to people with knowledge of the meeting.

His campaign announced they would take donations through cryptocurrency days after that meeting. Cryptocurrency executives and supporters have also held multiple events at his Florida club, according to people who have attended.

Over a dinner last month, Bailey also pitched Trump senior adviser Vince Haley on a number of cryptocurrency ideas, the people said, the same meeting where he pitched the fundraiser in Tennessee.

Haley then drafted the platform that had the supportive language about cryptocurrency, the people said. It was a topic the party had never touched in the past and…

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