Vice President JD Vance praised the cryptocurrency industry Wednesday and urged it to remain active in U.S. politics and policymaking, highlighting the Trump administration’s close ties to a deep-pocketed industry that’s become a powerful force in Washington.
Speaking at a bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, Vance urged the crypto executives and enthusiasts to keep pressure on Congress to pass pro-crypto legislation supported by the White House.
“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unleash innovation and use it to improve the lives of countless American citizens,” Vance said in his address. “But if we fail to create regulatory clarity now, we risk chasing this $3 trillion industry offshore in search of a friendly jurisdiction.”
Vance’s speech comes after Trump promised to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” when he addressed the same bitcoin conference in Nashville last year in the middle of the presidential campaign. The crypto industry, which felt unfairly attacked by the Biden administration, spent heavily to help Trump and pro-crypto lawmakers win election.
Vance praised how quickly the crypto industry was able to organize and influence U.S. politics during last year’s election, giving special credit to Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the billionaire founders of the crypto exchange Gemini.
“You chose to speak up and you chose to get involved and I believe you changed the direct trajectory of our country because of it,” Vance told the crowd gathered at the Venetian Hotel.
Vance hailed crypto as a hedge that can help conservative populists protect themselves against bad politicians, overly aggressive regulators and unethical elites. He predicted its continued assimilation into the financial mainstream and said it was strategically important for the U.S. to be a world leader in the industry, noting that the Chinese government is hostile to crypto.
Vance also touted the Trump administration’s record at fulfilling the campaign promises made last year.
As president, Trump has established a strategic bitcoin reserve for the federal government and pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, a black market website that was key to the early growth of bitcoin. Trump has also staked his administration with outspoken crypto backers while his administration has undone or paused several enforcement actions taken against large crypto companies.
Several other Trump officials are speakers at the bitcoin conference, as are his sons Don Jr. and Eric. The president and his family’s use of crypto as a platform to make money for the Trump brand has drawn criticism from Democrats and even crypto enthusiasts as corrupt and unseemly.
The Trump family holds about a 60% stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that recently launched its own stablecoin, a fast-growing form of cryptocurrency whose values is often tied to the U.S. dollar. The U.S. Senate advanced legislation earlier this month that creates a federal framework to regulate stablecoins, a bill that Vance said the Trump administration wants passed into law quickly.
Trump’s media company announced Tuesday that it was raising $2.5 billion to buy bitcoin, the world’s oldest and most popular cryptocurrency. The president and the first lady have also launched their own meme coins, with Trump recently attending a dinner for some of his coins’ biggest investors.
Eric and Don Jr., who are running the Trump Organization while their father is president, have also recently announced they are partnering with an existing firm to create a crypto mining company. They also spoke at the conference Wednesday, where they criticized the traditional banking system and heaped praise on crypto and their supporters in the audience.
“I’m not sure if we would have won in the same decisive manner had it not been for this incredible community,” Eric Trump said.