Here’s what Trump promised the crypto industry ahead of the election
Former President Donald Trump arrives for his campaign rally at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Doral, Florida, on July 9, 2024.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images
As Donald Trump celebrated his prospective victory on Election Night at Mar-a-Lago, he was joined by a roster of high-profile supporters. Among them were Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick.
One thing those three people have in common: crypto.
It’s an industry that Trump talked little about until recently but has counted on for large amounts of cash for his campaign and related PACs. Getting that money required him to make big promises pertaining to the crypto industry.
Digital asset markets surged on Election Night, with bitcoin hitting a record of over $75,000, as his victory began looking likely. Crypto-linked stocks like Coinbase and MicroStrategy moved higher as well in after-hours trading Tuesday.
With a Republican-controlled Senate on the horizon, Trump has few roadblocks to putting in place a more pro-crypto platform. Here are some of the things he’s pledged to do:
Strategic national crypto stockpile
In Nashville in July, Trump headlined the biggest bitcoin conference of the year. In his keynote address, the former president said that if he returned to the White House, he would ensure the federal government never sells off its bitcoin holdings. However, he stopped short of proposing a formal federal reserve of digital currency.
“For too long our government has violated the cardinal rule that every bitcoiner knows by heart: Never sell your bitcoin,” Trump said during his keynote speech.
Trump pledged to maintain the current level of bitcoin holdings that the U.S. has amassed from seizing assets from financial criminals.
“If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future,” he said.
Currently, the U.S. Marshals Service regularly auctions off bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies held in the country’s coffers such as ether and litecoin. These sales can sometimes trigger drops in crypto prices, like earlier this year when Germany began to liquidate hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoin it had seized.
‘On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler’
In public remarks for months, Trump has promised to unseat U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.
“On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler,” Trump said, referencing the Joe Biden-appointed SEC chairman who has taken an aggressive approach to crypto regulation.
The president does not have the power to fire the SEC chair. Even if Trump were to appoint a new chairman, Gensler would remain a commissioner on the independent agency.
Gensler has brought more than 100 actions against crypto firms during his tenure at the helm of the commission. In multiple interviews, the SEC chair has said he believes much of the industry already belongs under its jurisdiction, and its lawsuits are simply bringing the sector under compliance.
Crypto firms argue that the recent legal battles haven’t given the regulatory clarity the industry has been seeking, and they instead reflect a gross overreach by the commission.
Trump also vowed to create a “bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council.”
“The rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry,” he said.
Trump has expressly spoken out about his qualms with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who is widely viewed by the crypto community as an existential threat.
All bitcoin will be mined in America
In June in Palm Beach, Florida, about a dozen bitcoin mining executives and experts sat down with Trump for an hour and a half in a small tea room at the Mar-a-Lago Club. The closed-door session marked the first time the former president took a meeting with the technologists securing the $1.5 trillion bitcoin network by running large banks of high-powered machines.
The intimate gathering brought together a coalition of some of the biggest private and public American miners in the business, including representatives from Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital Holdings, Terawulf, CleanSpark and Core Scientific.
Less than four hours after Trump’s roundtable wrapped, the former president took to social media to extol the virtues of the bitcoin mining business.
“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 us be ENERGY DOMINANT!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social shortly after his meeting.
Since then, Trump has on multiple occasions reiterated the sentiment.
“If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA,” Trump declared in Nashville.
“We will be creating so much electricity that you’ll be saying, ‘Please, please, President, we don’t want any more electricity. We can’t stand it!'” he added.
Fed rate cuts
In August, Trump said that, if elected, he would lower interest rates.
The Federal Reserve, which guides the country’s monetary policy, sets the benchmark rate. It also, by design, operates independently from the White House.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell in September decided to slash rates by a half point in its first easing campaign in four years.
Rate cuts and the easing of monetary policy historically dovetails with a surge in crypto prices since it makes it cheaper to borrow money.
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the new Tesla Model S/X “refresh”, robotaxi service is coming, a new EV price war in China, and more.
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Kia’s electric SUV has already become a hit in several overseas markets. The EV5 is now arriving as the first electric Kia to be assembled in Singapore, as it rolls out to new global markets.
Kia EV5 arrives as its first locally made EV in Singapore
Shortly after its introduction at the 2023 Chengdu Motor Show, Kia launched the EV5 in China, with prices starting at about 20,000 (149,800 yuan).
Kia is now seeing a full-on recovery in China, largely thanks to the new electric SUV. Its joint venture partner in China, Yueda Kia, ranked first in sales growth among JV brands.
In China, Kia sold over 248,000 vehicles last year, the first time it has crossed the 200,000 mark since 2020. The EV5 is made at Yueda Kia’s manufacturing plant in China and exported to overseas markets like Australia and Thailand.
In fact, the EV5 is currently the fourth best-selling EV in Australia this year through April, ahead of every BYD vehicle.
The EV5 is slightly smaller than the Tesla Model Y at 4,615 mm in length, 1,875 mm in width, and 1,715 mm in height.
After launching the EV5 in Singapore on May 28, Kia hit a milestone. The electric SUV arrives as Kia’s first locally assembled EV in the region.
The EV5 was officially launched during an event at Hyundai Motor Innovation Groupe Centre Singapore, where it will be made. It will join other Hyundai Motor electric cars, including the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6. Hyundai also builds the IONIQ 5 robotaxi here and exports it to the US.
Kia’s distributor, Cycle and Carriage, will sell the EV5 in three variants: Air, Earth, and a sporty GT-line. Two battery sizes will be available, 64.2 kWh and 88.1 kWh, providing range of 400 km and 540 km, respectively.
Prices for the base Air trim start at $194,000 (SDG), including COE. The Earth and GT-Line models start at $210,500 (SDG) and $260,000 (SDG) with COE.
Later this year, Kia will launch the global version of the EV5, which will be made at its Autoland Gwangju manufacturing plant in South Korea. It will be sold in overseas markets, including Europe and Canada, but not the US.
Kia confirmed the EV5 will be “exclusively for the Canadian market” in North America. It will be available in FWD and AWD powertrains. Two battery sizes will be offered: 60.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh, providing a range of up to 500 km (310 miles).
Source: Cycle & Carriage Kia Pte Ltd, The Straits Times
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Do we smell a three-peat? The team at Ford Performance is once again competing at the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and this year is bringing a “Super” version of the all-electric Mustang Mach-E… At least we think there’s a Mach-E in there somewhere.
Pikes Peak—the “Race to the Clouds.” This annual event spanning 12.42 miles to an elevation of over 14,000 feet in the mountains above Colorado has been celebrated for over 100 years. While its hill climb is rooted in tradition and traditional vehicles, it has become an annual opportunity for EV engineers to showcase how much better all-electric models can be.
Last year, Rivian, Hyundai, and Ford Performance all impressed, with the former two automakers snagging records for their vehicle types, while Ford’s “F-150 Supertruck” took the “King of the Mountain” crown for the fastest climb of the day.
This past January, we learned that Ford Performance planned to defend its title at Pikes Peak with its third all-electric demonstrator in as many years. At the time, we only saw a sheeted vehicle that appeared to be relatively low with a massive spoiler, but the glowing front emblem left no doubt that it was a modified version of the Mustang Mach-E.
Today, Ford Performance unveiled the BEV it will use to climb Pikes Peak, which it is calling the Super Mustang Mach-E. Have a gander.
Super Mach-E will try to hold Ford’s Pikes Peak crown
Ford Performance shared the images seen above in an Instagram post with the following caption:
12 miles of mountain road. 156 turns. 14,115 feet of elevation. This is the @pikespeakhillclimb, and we’re bringing 6,125 lbs of downforce — and @romaindumas_official — to take it on with the Super Mustang Mach-E.
From the post, we’ve learned the Super Mustang Mach-E will be driven up Pikes Peak by none other than veteran French racer Romain Dumas. Dumas has a wealth of experience in some of the world’s largest (and longest) races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nürburgring 24 Hours, and the 24 Hours of Daytona.
He has been contracted to Ford Performance since 2022 and has won two of his five Hill Climb victories with the American automaker in the past two years (although the 2023 SuperVan victory was in the division and second overall). Could Dumas tally his sixth career victory at Pike Peak with a three-peat with Ford in the Super Mustang Mach-E?
Ford Performance and Romain Dumas have shown they can do it, so it’s a serious possibility. We will find out on June 22, 2025, when the 103rd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb takes place.
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