former president donald trump In his speech on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, he spoke positively about virtual currencies.
Trump's comments have created optimism in the cryptocurrency market as he is likely to be re-elected in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump reverses his opinion on cryptocurrencies: Trump praised the cryptocurrency market during his speech, saying his campaign would accept cryptocurrencies as donations and that pro-crypto voters should support Trump. It's not that I've supported the currency.
“If you like cryptocurrencies in any way…if you support cryptocurrencies, you should vote for Trump,” the former president told an audience on May 8.
Trump has been known to be vocal about many topics and people over the years, often sharing his opinions on social media platforms. One of the many sectors that Trump has been outspoken about is the cryptocurrency sector.
In 2019, Trump said: Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and cryptocurrencies.
President Trump: “I'm not a fan of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. They're not money, and their value is highly volatile and based on thin air.'' tweeted July 11, 2019.
Trump also continued to call for Libra, virtual currency called Meta Platforms Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:META) was working on it at the time.
“If Facebook and other companies want to become banks, they must seek a new banking charter and be subject to all banking regulations, just like other banks.”
President Trump said the real currency is the U.S. dollar, adding that it will remain “the most dominant currency in the world.”
Invest $1,000 in Bitcoin: On the day President Trump slammed Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, major cryptocurrencies traded between $11,158.92 and $12,144.62.
Based on the day’s high price, investors could have purchased 0.0823 BTC at the time of Trump’s tweet.
This $1,000 investment would be worth $5,138.70 today, based on Bitcoin's price of $62,438.61 at the time of writing. This corresponds to his 413.9% return.
At its peak of $73,750.07, set in March 2024, the investment would have been worth $6,069.63, an increase of 506.9% from the time of Trump's tweet.
Related links: Exclusive: Cathie Wood says Bitcoin will be key to 2024 election for young voters
Why it's important: Trump criticized Bitcoin in 2019, but would later use the power of the cryptocurrency to launch his own non-fungible token collection.
President Trump has currently launched three NFT collections since December 2022. Many on social media were quick to point out previous comments against cryptocurrencies made by the former president at the launch of NFTs.
Bitcoin prices soared in 2023 and 2024, rebounding from 2022 when volatility caused by the bankruptcy of multiple crypto trading platforms caused prices to fall.
The approval of a Bitcoin ETF in 2024 increased optimism for the crypto sector and helped push Bitcoin to new all-time highs a few months later.
Bitcoin skeptics like President Trump have been proven wrong over the years, with Bitcoin prices hitting new all-time highs and returns outpacing other assets.
This article was previously published and updated by Benzinga.
Read next: If you invested $1,000 in Metaplatform stock when Donald Trump said Facebook was always anti-Trump, here's how much money you'd have now.
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