Several Bitcoin miners met with former president Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday night, according to Matthew Schultz, executive chairman at crypto mining company CleanSpark Inc.
Trump told attendees that he loves and understands cryptocurrency, adding that Bitcoin miners help to stabilize energy supply from the grid, according to Schultz. Trump said he’d be an advocate for miners in the White House, Schultz added.
So. I just ran into a guy that’s a huge fan of #bitcoin and LOVES what we’re doing at @CleanSpark_Inc in #georgia and #mississippi and #wyoming. pic.twitter.com/ofSXJGWWfn
— S Matthew Schultz (@smatthewschultz) June 11, 2024
The Trump campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said Bitcoin mining may be “our last line of defense against a CBDC,” referring to a central bank digital currency, adding that he wants all remaining Bitcoin to be “MADE IN THE USA!!!”
The former president has increasingly highlighted Bitcoin and other digital assets on the campaign trail in recent weeks as a way to reach new voters. He has taken advice on the subject from Elon Musk and pledged at a recent Libertarian Party convention to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the convicted founder of the Silk Road online marketplace. His campaign is also now accepting crypto donations.
Jason Les, chief executive officer and director of Riot Platforms Inc., also met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, according to a post on X.
The meeting comes as crypto miners reel from a backlash over a range of issues including climate change and their impact on local power grids. Democrats have been leading efforts to ramp up scrutiny of Bitcoin miners’ energy consumption and carbon
Read more on investmentnews.com