Former U.S. president Donald Trump continued to come around on Bitcoin {{BTC}}, calling it an “additional form of currency” in a CNBC appearance.
“There has been a lot of use of that [bitcoin] and I’m not sure that i would want to take it away at this point,” he added. The comments represent a stark change in stance from 2021 when Trump labelled bitcoin as a “scam” that threatened the U.S. Dollar as the world reserve currency.
Trump’s comments this morning follow remarks he made last month when he said bitcoin had “taken on a life of its own” and that it will probably need regulation.
To be sure, the GOP standard bearer for the 2024 presidential election is a long way from becoming a Bitcoin maxi or showing anything other than a passing interest in the crypto. “I want one currency, I want the dollar, I don’t want people leaving the dollar,” he continued, before moving on talking about the great interest shown in some of his NFT offerings. “People were going crazy for these things [NFTs], and so many of these were bought with this new cryptocurrency and I couldn’t believe the amount,” he said.
Trump added that he “would not allow countries to go off the dollar” because when the U.S. loses that standard it will “be like losing a revolutionary war.”
Trump has regularly been posting screenshots of his bullish odds on Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market.
UPDATE March 11, 2024 (13:57 UTC): Add Trump’s quote on not allowing countries to leave the dollar.