- Former US President Donald Trump recently made an explosive post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
- The Republican presidential candidate vowed to turn the US into the world’s “crypto capital.”
“This afternoon, I’m laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet,” said a video voiced over by Donald Trump on X. “They want to choke you out of business, we’re not going to let that happen.”
World Liberty Financial, the rebranded version of Trump’s “The DeFiant Ones,” took credit for the video. As of 4:00 PM UTC, the post pinned on the presidential candidate’s X account has already garnered over 4.2 million views, 41K likes, 8.9K reposts, and 4.4K comments. The numbers do not even include engagements in other accounts and platforms.
Donald Trump Solidifying His Stance on Crypto
Trump’s latest post reinforces his position on Bitcoin (BTC), other cryptocurrencies, and the digital assets sector in general. This is in stark contrast to the current administration’s rather antagonistic stance on the industry, which has been marred by multiple lawsuits against key players within the space.
The Republican bet has been very vocal about his support for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies since the launch of his campaign for the 2024 election. This was a complete turnaround from his declaration during his first term as president that he wasn’t a fan of them. Back then, Trump claimed that cryptocurrencies were volatile and had no inherent value. Furthermore, he said that criminals favor them for illegal transactions.
Fast-forward to the present, Trump has more than made up for his earlier statement. The Republican politician has been active in various non-fungible token (NFT) projects, joined the Bitcoin2024 convention in Tennessee, allied with “The Dogefather” Elon Musk, and disclosed substantial ownership of tokens like Ethereum (ETH) and meme coins.
A Reference to Chokepoint 2.0
The 45th US president’s recent post also contained reference to the suspected shadowy enforcement of “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” The program was apparently a new version of the US government’s initiative way back in 2013 to 2017 to cut off banking services to legal but high-risk or controversial businesses.
The present iteration of the effort allegedly seeks to cripple crypto-related businesses. Concerns about the orchestration of this program began last year during the closure of several banks linked to the crypto industry, such as Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Silvergate Bank.
Former Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) chief executive Brian Brooks confirmed the initiative’s existence last year. A White House report highlighting President Joe Biden’s negative sentiment toward the crypto industry and numerous charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against crypto-related businesses further fueled his claim.
On the other hand, New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Superintendent Adrienne Harris vehemently denied the existence of such a government crackdown last year.
