Can Trump Nationalize Bitcoin? Here’s What Crypto Pros Say

Several bitcoin mining executives late Tuesday met with former President Donald Trump, according to various online posts. Trump commented on social media Tuesday night that he wants the remaining bitcoin to be made in the U.S.

CleanSpark (CLSK) chairman Matthew Schultz and CEO Zach Bradford attended the event, along with Riot Platforms (RIOT) CEO Jason Les and head of public policy Brian Morgenstern. Marathon Digital (MARA) CFO Salman Khan also met with the former President. The attendees are three of the world’s top five bitcoin miners, according to a post from The Bitcoin Conference.

“Bitcoin mining may be our last line of defense against a CBDC [Central Bank Digital Currency],” Trump wrote online after the event. “Biden’s hatred of bitcoin only helps China, Russia, and the Radical Communist Left. We want all the remaining bitcoin to be MADE IN THE USA!!! It will help ups (sic) be ENERGY DOMINANT!!!”

Many of the attendees were positive on Trump’s positions regarding bitcoin.

Schultz commented online that Trump was a “huge fan” of bitcoin and “loves” what CleanSpark is doing.

“Today, I met with former President Trump to discuss important bipartisan issues that affect our industry,” Khan wrote online after the meeting. “We appreciate the recognition of our industry’s importance and are committed to advocate for it’s future.”

“President Trump will protect your right to own bitcoin, to mine bitcoin, to transact with bitcoin, and for man (sic) of us, to work in the bitcoin industry,” Morgenstern wrote in a Monday opinion piece for Bitcoin Magazine. Riot Platforms shared the article on X following the meeting with Trump.

“Very good meeting with President Trump on bitcoin and U.S. energy dominance,” Les shared online.

American-Made Bitcoin?

Chris Matta, strategic advisor at 3iQ, noted that the U.S. currently boasts the highest hash rate on the bitcoin network globally, accounting for about 38% of the total. The hash rate is a measure of the computer power required to mine cryptocurrencies and process transactions.

However, it is impossible to amass a 100% share of the global hash rate.

“Regardless of the policy decisions, it is simply not possible for all remaining bitcoin to be ‘made in the USA’ due to the decentralized nature of the network,” Matta said. “This diversification is essential for bitcoin’s resilience, which reduces the risk of miner centralization and exposure to any single government.”

Matta added that the U.S. was the main beneficiary from China’s ban on crypto mining in 2021.

“While Trump’s desire to see all bitcoin mining in the U.S. may not be technically feasible as stated, the sentiment behind his statement is a powerful one,” Matta continued. “Encouraging domestic bitcoin mining aligns with fostering investment and innovation within the crypto industry, while bolstering energy infrastructure growth.”

Trump’s stance is “in stark contrast to the current administration’s proposals for burdensome excise taxes on mining,” Matta added. He said the excise tax proposals threaten to drive a “significant portion” of U.S.-based hashpower to more economically favorable jurisdictions.

Gaining Mining Power

Meanwhile, Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, agrees that achieving a 100% hash rate is impossible, but above 50% is feasible.

“In order to get there, the U.S. would likely need to explicitly encourage energy exports in a way that reignites investment in energy infrastructure including raw production of fossil fuels, LNG terminals, gas pipelines, refineries and nuclear power plants,” Sigel said. “Such a tone shift might help lower energy and electricity costs, the biggest input for bitcoin miners. It would also be helpful to stop micromanaging access to existing grid resources.”

Sigel pointed to New York’s two-year moratorium from November 2022, that temporarily banned crypto mining powered by fossil fuel plants.

“An executive order or legislation prohibiting discrimination against certain electricity consumers would give bitcoin miners the confidence to increase CapEx in the U.S.,” he added.

“In our view, America can absolutely dominate bitcoin mining if we prioritize growth over the unrealistic green agenda, hard money over inflationary policies, and innovation over regulation,” Sigel said. “By focusing on economic expansion and fostering an ‘all of the above’ approach to energy production, the U.S. could easily host more than half of bitcoin’s global hash rate within 18 months.”

Bitcoin Price

Bitcoin traded around $68,000 Wednesday after spiking in the morning on the cooler-than-expected CPI inflation report. BTC traded around $67,750 prior to the release, rising slightly from Tuesday’s lows near $66,177. Tuesday’s slide marked bitcoin’s first fall below $67,000 in June and its lowest level since mid-May.

Still, bitcoin rallied nearly 62% so far this year.

Spot bitcoin ETFs, including the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), collectively pared gains, rising a fraction Wednesday. The ETFs swung about 3% higher in early trade.

Coinbase (COIN) jumped 4.4% Wednesday. COIN stock is trading in a cup base with a 283.48 buy point.

Marathon Digital stock climbed 2.4%. Fellow bitcoin miner stocks RIOT jumped 6.5% while CLSK shares spiked 8.2%.

You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison

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