Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reiterated his support for Bitcoin and crypto during an interview with popular live streamer Adin Ross on Aug. 5.

The former President reaffirmed statements made during his recent keynote at the Bitcoin2024 conference, saying that the US needs to foster innovation in the digital asset sector.

He further stated that the federal government should not attempt to sell its crypto holdings in response to speculation about the matter.

Leadership role

The discussion follows a significant transaction last week, in which a wallet identified as belonging to the US government transferred $2 billion worth of Bitcoin to an unidentified wallet, according to Arkham Intelligence data.

Some believe the government is looking to offload the tokens, which has exacerbated a market already gripped by extreme fear amid economic and geopolitical tensions. However, others have noted that the transfers are potentially connected to the US Marshalls Service recently choosing Coinbase to custody the assets.

Trump emphasized the importance of digital assets, describing crypto as a “very modern currency” comparable to artificial intelligence (AI) in its transformative potential. He said:

“It’s like AI — ‘do you love it or do you not like it?’ — if we don’t do it, China is going to do it, or other people are going to do it, and we can’t be left behind, and crypto is right in that sphere.”

Trump argued that the US needs to take a leading role or risk losing it to a rival nation like China. He also criticized the current administration’s negative stance toward crypto and the recent large-scale transfers.

“It’s something they shouldn’t be doing because they should be trying to build it. If we don’t do it, China’s doing it, and other places are doing it, and they’re doing it anyway.”

Nations and Bitcoin

Trump’s comments come amid a broader debate about the role of crypto in the US economy. He recently floated the idea of using a portion of the government’s Bitcoin holdings to pay down the national debt, which currently stands at $35 trillion.

Trump alluded to the potential for Bitcoin’s appreciation against the US dollar to gradually siphon value from the fiat system and transition the nation’s wealth into a more stable store of value.

Meanwhile, Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced legislation that would require the US to purchase up to 200,000 Bitcoin annually over the next five years, illustrating the growing political importance of crypto.

Bitcoin was trading around $54,144 as of press time, down 6.84% over the past 24 hours, based on CryptoSlate data.