Former President Donald Trump spoke positively about cryptocurrency during a speech Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
The comments from Trump are creating optimism for the crypto market under a potential re-election of Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump Flips On Crypto Opinion: While Trump praised the cryptocurrency market during his speech, also saying his campaign would accept crypto for donations and pro-crypto voters should support him, he hasn't always been supportive of cryptocurrency.
"If you like crypto in any form … if you're in favor of crypto you'd better vote for Trump," the former president said to the crowd on May 8.
Trump has been known for being vocal about a number of topics and people over the years, often sharing those opinions on social media platforms. One of the many sectors Trump has been outspoken about is the cryptocurrency sector.
In 2019, Trump spoke out about Bitcoin BTC/USD and cryptocurrency.
"I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air," Trump tweeted on July 11, 2019.
Trump also went on to call out Libra, a virtual currency that Meta Platforms Inc META was working on at the time.
"If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks."
Trump said the real currency is the U.S. dollar, which he added would remain the "most dominant currency anywhere in the world."
Investing $1,000 in Bitcoin: On the day Trump blasted Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, the leading cryptocurrency traded between $11,158.92 and $12,144.62.
Based on the high of the day, an investor could have purchased 0.0823 BTC at the time of Trump's tweet.
That $1,000 investment would be worth $5,138.70 today based on a price of $62,438.61 for Bitcoin at the time of writing. This represents a return of 413.9%.
At its peak of $73,750.07 set in March 2024, the investment would have been worth $6,069.63, up 506.9% from the time of Trump's tweet.
Related Link: EXCLUSIVE: Cathie Wood Says Bitcoin Is Key 2024 Election Issue For Young Voters
Why It's Important: While he criticized Bitcoin in 2019, Trump would later use the power of cryptocurrency to launch his own non-fungible token collection.
Trump has now launched three NFT collections since December 2022. Many on social media were quick to point out the previous comments against cryptocurrency by the former president at the time his NFTs launched.
The price of Bitcoin soared in 2023 and 2024, rebounding from a 2022 year that saw a drop in the price due to volatility from the bankruptcies of several cryptocurrency trading platforms.
The approval of Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 increased optimism for the crypto sector and helped kick off new all-time highs for Bitcoin months later.
Skeptics of Bitcoin such as Trump have been proven wrong over the years with the price of Bitcoin soaring to new highs and gains outpacing other assets.
This article was previously published by Benzinga and has been updated.
Photos: Shutterstock
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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