Alexandra Ulmer
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cast himself as a defender of cryptocurrencies and slammed Democratic attempts to regulate the sector at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Thursday, three people who attended told Reuters.
Trump raised $12 million at a fundraiser hosted by tech venture capitalists David Sachs and Chamath Palihapitiya at Sachs' home in the upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood.
“He said he's going to be the crypto president,” Trevor Traina, a San Francisco-based technology executive and former Trump ambassador to Austria, told Reuters.
The cryptocurrency industry has faced increased scrutiny from regulators and is increasingly trying to influence U.S. politicians since the bankruptcies of major crypto companies in 2022 spooked investors, exposing fraud and misconduct and causing losses for millions of investors.
Republican National Committee member Harmeet Dhillon said Trump has touted the importance of cryptocurrencies and stressed that he is very supportive of the sector.
Dillon said Trump, who is running to unseat Democratic incumbent Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, did not offer specifics on his proposed cryptocurrency policy.
Biden is set to sign an executive order aimed at ensuring the responsible development of digital assets in 2022, which reportedly calls on regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to issue guidance and rules to address risks in the crypto ecosystem.
The Biden White House has also said it is keen to work with Congress to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
San Francisco is an extremely liberal city, but prominent local venture capitalists and cryptocurrency investors have been increasingly vocal in their support of Trump, citing excessive regulation.
“President Trump has made it clear that Biden and Gensler's opposition to cryptocurrency will stop within the first hour of the start of the second term of the Trump Administration,” Jacob Helberg, an adviser to data analytics firm Palantir, said, referring to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Dillon added that executives from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, crypto investor twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and other crypto industry leaders were in attendance on Thursday.
A spokesman for Gemini, founded by the Winklevoss twins, did not immediately comment.
Sachs and Palihapitiya have spoken publicly about investing in cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin.
Sam Bankman Freed, founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, was convicted last year of stealing money from clients after prosecutors alleged he used the funds to donate more than $100 million to U.S. political campaigns.
(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Additional reporting by Hannah Lang; Editing by Rod Nickel)
