Former U.S. President Donald Trump has commented on the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies and the crypto crackdown by the Chinese government. He reiterated his anti-crypto stance: “I don’t want to have other currencies coming out and hurting or demeaning the dollar in any way.”
Donald Trump Comments on Crypto and China’s Crackdown
Former U.S. President Donald Trump commented on the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies and the Chinese government’s crypto crackdown in an interview with Yahoo Finance’s Adam Shapiro, published Monday.
Trump was asked: “You have a relationship with the Chinese President Xi Jinping. What do you think Xi Jinping is up to? And is this crackdown on crypto good for the U.S.?” He replied:
Well, I think he wants to do his own currency, whether it’s crypto or otherwise.
Several people, including famous “Rich Dad Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki, have similarly expressed that China has been cracking down on crypto to pave the way for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan. Some view the anti-crypto move by the Chinese government as positive news for the U.S, including a number of lawmakers. “China’s decision to restrict access presents a perfect opportunity for American leadership on cryptocurrency,” noted Congressman Patrick McHenry.
Commenting on the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies, Trump said: “And one of the reasons that we have to be very careful is we have a currency right now, the dollar. And I’m a big fan of the dollar. I’m a big fan of our currency.” He emphasized:
I don’t want to have other currencies coming out and hurting or demeaning the dollar in any way.
“And China is certainly not looking to back the dollar. But right now, they’re based on the dollar and they would probably have to stay that way unless we do something very foolish in our country,” the former president opined.
Citing “the horror show at the border” and “the horror show of the Afghan withdrawal,” Trump stressed: “The problem that I have … is our country is losing credibility.” He elaborated: “If you look at a monetary system based on the dollar, if you start losing credibility, all of a sudden you’re going to lose that strong monetary system. And we have to be very careful about that.”
Trump has always been a critic of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. While still president of the U.S., he tweeted: “I am not a fan of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity.”
In June, he said bitcoin “seemed like a scam” and he would not invest in it. The price of bitcoin was only $6,000 at that time. At the time of writing, BTC is trading above $49K based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. In August, Trump warned that crypto was “potentially a disaster waiting to happen.”
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