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Former President Donald Trump argued the benefits of the U.S. government jumping onto the crypto boat on Friday (transcript below).
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Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign flagged Trump's comments on Bitcoin, specifically when he mentioned the token as a potential savior for the country's indebtedness.
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Harris' bid for the White House, while in its infancy, hasn't yet addressed a policy view on crypto.
Former President Donald Trump heaped more praise on the "very, very smart people" of the crypto industry in an interview broadcast on Friday , suggesting that the U.S. embracing Bitcoin (BTC) could aid in addressing the $35 trillion U.S. national debt .
"Who knows? Maybe we'll pay off our $35 trillion dollars, hand them a little crypto check, right?" Trump suggested to Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo in an interview. "We'll hand them a little bitcoin and wipe out our $35 trillion."
Though Vice President Kamala Harris, his presumptive Democratic opponent in the presidential race, hasn't yet made any policy statements about her own view on cryptocurrency, one of her campaign accounts on X – the "rapid response" campaign effort – seemed to slam Trump's view by airing his comments .
Most of Trump's remarks suggested his primary interest is in the U.S.'s competitive position with China, though he also issued a dig at President Joe Biden's administration and its crypto position.
"Biden's trying to shut it down– Biden doesn't have the intellect to shut it down," Trump said. "Can you imagine this guy's telling you to shut something down like that? He has no idea what the hell it is. But if we don't embrace it, it's going to be embraced by other people."
So far, the former president has drawn hefty support from prominent crypto advocates. There are signs that some in the sector are also considering support for Harris, though they're eager to hear what she thinks.
Below is a transcript of Trump's answers to Bartiromo's questions on crypto:
Donald Trump: "Crypto is a very interesting thing. Very high-level in certain ways, intellectually very high-level. But if we don't do it, China's going to do it. China's going to do it anyway. But if we don't do it, China's doing it. China is already doing it, and if we don't do it, other countries are going to do it. So we might as well be at the forefront. And there are people in crypto that are very, very smart people who do love our country, and they think it's-- they think it's good. Who knows? Maybe we'll pay off our $35 trillion dollars, hand them a little crypto check, right? We'll hand them a little bitcoin and wipe out our $35 trillion." …
"It's already prominent. It's moving along. It's very loosely regulated. That's one of the reasons it's moving along. But it is a different form of a currency, and it's going to end up benefiting the country. But if we shut it down like, you know, Biden's trying to shut it down-- Biden doesn't have the intellect to shut it down. Can you imagine this guy's telling you to shut something down like that? He has no idea what the hell it is. But if we don't embrace it, it's going to be embraced by other people. You know, it's a massive thing already. Did you read where it's bigger than any company in the world already, if you look at the market. It's bigger than many countries. It's a very big thing. If we're not going to be the leader– we have the people that are the leaders. I know some of them. They're very smart. And if we don't embrace it, other countries are going to embrace it. Other countries will anyway, but we can be the leader. We might as well be the leader."
Read More: In Donald Trump's Own Words – a Partial Transcript of His Bitcoin 2024 Speech