In a recent interview, US President Donald Trump reiterated his support for cryptocurrency, but also denied profiting from them.
Donald Trump: ‘I Support Crypto’
President Trump stated that cryptos have shown resilience in the market downturn and are now widely accepted. He said that the US must maintain a leading stance in crypto innovation, or else it will fall behind countries like China.
“I support cryptocurrency,” Trump shared in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press this week. He further stated, “I think cryptocurrency is important because if we don’t do it, China will. This is an emerging thing that’s very popular and that’s hot.” He went on to add that during market downturns, cryptocurrency has performed much stronger than other aspects of the market.
Trump stated that the importance of cryptocurrency cannot be overlooked, and its widespread adoption is a key driver of his support for cryptocurrency. He also accused the Biden administration of initially being critical of cryptocurrency but later softening its stance for political reasons.
Donald Trump Denies Profiting from Presidency or Crypto
During the same interview, Trump denied profiting from his presidency when the host specifically asked him about his memecoin, $TRUMP. As per Chainalysis, last month, in just two days, Trump and his allies made approx $900,000 in transaction fees through $TRUMP. This jump was the result of memecoin’s site announcing that the top 220 $TRUMP holders would get a chance to have dinner with President Trump.
Welker asked Trump about this situation in response to the perception that he was “profiting from the presidency.” Trump replied, “I have not profited from it.”
Welker asked Trump again, “So you haven’t profited at all from cryptocurrency? I haven’t even looked,” Trump replied, adding, “If I own stock in a company and I’m doing well, the stock market is up, I guess I’m profiting.”
After the dinner announcement, the price of the TRUMP token surged over 50%. According to the project’s website, around 80% of the TRUMP token’s supply is controlled by the Trump organization and its affiliates.
Since Trump’s first term, he and his family members have been accused multiple times of profiting from the presidency. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren even called his crypto ventures a conflict of interest, and went on to call for a congressional investigation into whether Donald Trump was involved in insider trading or market manipulation.
Also Read: Elizabeth Warren Questions David Sacks’ Crypto Ties Amidst Policy Concerns
