Former US president Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind cryptocurrency, challenging the stated policy of current incumbent Joe Biden, who has called for regulation on the digital currency market.
Speaking at a fundraising event in San Francisco on Thursday, Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, lambasted the Biden administration's attempt to regulate the sector and indicated he would allow a looser reign in the sector if he is elected later in the year.
According to Reuters, Trump raised $12 million from the fundraiser hosted by tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya.
The event was hosted at Sacks' home in the swanky Pacific Heights neighbourhood.
"He said he would be the crypto president," Trevor Traina, a San Francisco-based tech executive and former Trump ambassador to Austria, told Reuters.
Republican National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon said Trump championed crypto as an important asset.
Crypto industry has been facing a lot of pushback from authorities, in the US as well as in India, in the wake of several bankruptcies and alleged scams marring the sector.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of now bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, was recently found guilty of scamming investors of several millions of dollars.
In 2022, Biden signed an executive order in a bid to ensure the responsible development of digital assets. The move led to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Futures Trading Commission to issue guidance to the crypto industry.
All the same, after a fear-induced lull in the market, crypto saw a resurgence, with Bitcoin reaching the all-time high of $73,000 in March on the back of the crypto's listing as Exchange Traded Funds at the beginning of the year.
According to Jacob Helberg, an adviser to data analytics provider Palantir, Trump is categorical in his support to the crypto industry.
"President Trump made clear that the Biden-Gensler crusade against crypto will grind to a halt within one hour of a second Trump administration," he said, referring to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, according to Reuters.
The White House under Biden said that it is eager to work with Congress to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
In a statement to Reuters, White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said the Biden administration had supported innovation in digital assets while seeking to protect consumers from "risks associated with new technologies."
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