Alexandra Ulmer
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump portrayed himself as a champion of cryptocurrencies and criticized Democratic attempts to regulate the sector during a fundraiser in San Francisco on Thursday, three sources present told Reuters.
Trump raised $12 million in a fundraiser hosted by tech venture capitalists David Sachs and Chamath Palihapitiya at Sachs’ home in the posh Pacific Heights neighborhood.
“He said he would be the president of cryptocurrency,” Trevor Traina, a San Francisco tech executive and former Trump ambassador to Austria, told Reuters.
The crypto industry is increasingly trying to influence U.S. policymakers as it faces increased regulatory scrutiny, especially after the 2022 bankruptcies of major crypto firms spooked investors, exposed fraud and misconduct and left millions of investors out of pocket.
Trump called cryptocurrency important and emphasized that he is very supportive of the sector, said Republican National Committee member Harmeet Dhillon.
Dillon said Trump, who is running to unseat Democratic incumbent Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, has not revealed details of his proposed crypto policies.
In 2022, Biden signed an executive order aimed at ensuring the responsible development of digital assets, resulting in reports calling on regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to issue guidance and rules to address the risks in cryptocurrency. ecosystem.
Biden’s White House has also said it is willing to work with Congress to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
In a statement to Reuters, White House spokeswoman Robin Patterson said the Biden administration supported innovation in digital assets while seeking to protect consumers from “the risks associated with new technologies.”
While San Francisco is largely liberal, a growing number of high-profile local venture capitalists and crypto investors have backed Trump, with some citing what they saw as overregulation among their reasons.
“President Trump has made it clear that the Biden-Gensler anti-cryptocurrency crusade will stop within an hour of the second Trump administration,” said Jacob Helberg, an adviser to data analytics provider Palantir (NYSE:), referring to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. .
Thursday’s event was attended by executives from crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:), crypto investor twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and other cryptocurrency leaders, Dillon added.
A spokesman for Gemini, the company founded by the Winklevoss twins, did not immediately comment.
Sachs and Palihapitiya have spoken publicly about their investments in cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin.
The founder of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, was found guilty last year of stealing from customers. Prosecutors say he used the funds to donate more than $100 million to political campaigns in the United States.