Trump wants to protect Bitcoin and free Ross Ulbricht

Last night, US presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke at the Libertarian National Convention 2024. During his appearance, the former president promised that he would stand up for Bitcoin and Co. and release the founder of Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, from prison. The Republicans' pro-Bitcoin election campaign is thus entering the next round.

Right at the beginning of his speech, the 77-year-old tried to get the libertarian community on his side.

It is my great honor tonight to be the first president in American history to address the Libertarian National Convention. [...] In the last year, I've been indicted by the government on 91 different counts, so if I wasn't a libertarian before, I certainly am now.
_{Donald Trump}

The ex-president described the audience as "champions of freedom" and at the same time called Biden "by far the worst president of all time". The Republican also positioned himself against Marxism, or communism, which he currently observes in the US government.

We believe that Marxism is an evil doctrine that came straight from the ashes of hell. Having Marxism in our government is unacceptable and teaching it to our children we believe is child abuse.
_{Donald Trump}

Trump also called inflation under President Biden a theft from the people.

We believe that property rights are fundamental to a free society and that Joe Biden's unbridled inflation is an egregious theft from the American people, it is theft.
_{Donald Trump}

Trump promised as president to stand up against overregulation and the Deep State, for free speech and the right to bear arms, and for other libertarian demands, to which the crowd cheered him on. To win over libertarians in the presidential election, Trump made concessions that he would hold office with libertarian politicians.

As president, however, Donald Trump was less conspicuous for his libertarian policies. Under his leadership, there were coronavirus lockdowns in the USA, even if these were imposed by the respective states. Even today, for example, Trump is still campaigning for trade tariffs, which tend to meet with disapproval in the libertarian community.

The presidential candidate has surprisingly attracted attention several times in recent weeks with his sudden pro-Bitcoin stance. At the beginning of the month, Trump emphasized that if you like crypto, you should vote for him for president - Blocktrainer.de reported. And just a few days ago, the candidate currently leading in the polls began accepting Bitcoin and Co. for campaign donations. At the same time, Trump emphasized that he would build a "crypto army".

In his speech at the Libertarian National Convention, he directly picked up on the topic that had previously earned him a lot of support.

We want the state to stay out of our businesses, out of our wallets and out of our lives.
_{Donald Trump}

As the audience roared "end the Fed", Trump also addressed the issue more specifically. He said that he will stop "Joe Biden's crusade against crypto". Trump continued:

The aversion to digital central bank currencies is currently growing in US politics. On Thursday evening, the US House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill to ban their introduction - Blocktrainer.de reported.

There were some libertarians in the audience holding up a "FREE ROSS" sign. Ross Ulbricht is the founder of a free marketplace on the Darknet called Silk Road. On Silk Road, users could buy drugs, steroids or even weapons. The payment method was exclusively Bitcoin. Silk Road was therefore the first major use case of Satoshi Nakamoto's creation as a means of payment at the time.

In October 2013, Silk Road was finally shut down by the FBI and Ulbricht was sentenced a few months later to two life sentences plus 40 years without the possibility of early release. As Ulbricht was merely providing a free marketplace, the libertarian community is outraged by this sentence.

During his appearance, Trump also made a concession here. Moments after the audience shouted "Free Ross", Trump declared that as president he would also release Ross Ulbricht to freedom, the audience cheered.

Trump is increasingly showing himself to be the libertarian pro-Bitcoin politician. This suggests that, due to the sheer size of the community, this issue may now be decisive in the election. The Republican presidential candidate is also working with the CEO of Bitcoin news medium Bitcoin Magazine for his campaign strategy, which is currently becoming increasingly apparent.

In the Bitcoin community as well as among libertarians, Trump has already been able to attract positive attention with this approach. Nevertheless, some are critical of the ex-president. At the Libertarian National Convention, there were also some spectators who booed him. One even held up a sign that read "STOP TRUMP VOTE LARS". Although the ex-president is making efforts to win over the libertarian community, many of them will probably still prefer to vote for candidates from their own party - such as Lars Mapstead - even if they have no chance of success.

It remains to be seen whether Trump can use this campaign strategy to extend his lead over his opponent Biden and whether he will back up his words with action if the US electorate votes him into the White House for the second time this November.