United States President Donald Trump says he wants all future Bitcoin to be mined in the U.S. after meeting with key industry figures.
On June 12, Trump met with Riot Platforms CEO Jason Les and its head of public policy, Brian Morgenstern.
Afterward, Trump took to Truth Social to voice his support for domestic mining firms:
To gain an insider’s perspective on Trump’s Bitcoin (BTC) epiphany, Cointelegraph spoke with Greg Beard, CEO of Stronghold Digital Mining and former head of energy at Apollo.
“The U.S. is and should be a leader in supporting and securing Bitcoin as an alternative to the ever-deflating values of sovereign-backed currencies,” Beard affirmed.
Furthermore, according to Beard, U.S. President Joe Biden should join Trump in fighting Bitcoin’s corner:
“As Bitcoin miners, we’re a new and maturing industry. We believe in what we’re doing and we think Bitcoin is the right asset for American society and far beyond it. We hope to have the support of any administration.”
Beard may get his wish. Although the Biden camp has been less vocal in its support thus far, it is believed his campaign is working behind the scenes to facilitate crypto donations in the near future.
A big moment for Bitcoin
On X, the Bitcoin community responded positively to Trump’s intervention. Jan3 CEO Samson Mow was among the most bullish regarding the long-term implications of Trump’s support.
“I guarantee that this move from Trump will be discussed behind closed doors by governments around the world,” said Mow on June 13. “[Mainstream media] news outlets are already talking about it. We saw [the Industrial and Commercial Bank] in China embrace #Bitcoin yesterday. This is going to push everything ahead even more.”
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Another X user said, “If you don’t think Donald Trump is going to make the #Bitcoin price the daily numerical measure of the success of his second term, you don’t know Donald Trump at all.”
Not everyone was quite so impressed, however. Laura Shin, host of the Unchained Podcast, was one of the dissenting voices.
Shin asked, “Why is everyone celebrating Trump saying that all the Bitcoins should be made in the USA? Doesn’t that create jurisdictional risk and make #Bitcoin less decentralized and vulnerable to attack? Why are you applauding that? I don’t get it.”
However, Shapeshift founder Erik Voorhees told Shin not to get bogged down in the details of what Trump said.
Voorhees described Trump’s commentary as “nonsense” that betrayed “both a lack of understanding of Bitcoin, and a lack of understanding of economics broadly.”
Ultimately, however, Voorhees said, “Such a statement means a welcoming environment for Bitcoin generally in the U.S., which is great.”
A contrarian view
Trump’s embrace of U.S. Bitcoin mining contradicts a report by the investment firm Kerrisdale Capital, which blasted the industry. According to the report published at the start of the month, “Bitcoin mining is easily among the worst business models for a public company we have ever encountered.”
According to Sahm Adrangi, Kerrisdale Capital’s chief investment officer, the U.S. should look further afield than Bitcoin when seeking a cryptocurrency to nurture. In particular, Adrangi raised concerns about the power consumption and sustainability of Bitcoin mining.
“I believe that the U.S. does not need to support Bitcoin. There’s plenty of other cryptocurrencies out there that can like take its place that don’t use up all this energy,” Adrangi told Cointelegraph.
“I think the whole industry should be just kicked out of the United States,” he added.
Kerrisdale Capital is shorting Riot Platforms’ stock, which is one of the largest mining firms in the United States. As part of Kerrisdale’s aggressive campaign against Riot, Adrangi contacted state legislators, recommending against preferential treatment, such as tax breaks.
But while Adrangi was seeking the ear of state legislators, Riot was aiming higher.
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Beard told Cointelegraph that lawmakers at all levels are coming around to the industry’s potential.
“Bitcoin mining advances energy efficiency, and people and policymakers are starting to get it,” he said. “Bitcoin miners have the utility of intermittent demand. This enables miners to adjust their energy usage and dispatch power to the grid in near real-time.”
As for Trump’s assertion on energy dominance, Beard explained how Bitcoin mining could help to stabilize the grid:
“Right now, we’re starting to feel the destabilizing effects of adding intermittent and limited-duration sources, like solar and wind, at a record pace. Bitcoin mining offers a variable load solution to balance the grid and support the renewable energy transition.”
