Trump’s Bitcoin Conference Fundraiser Tickets Raise $844,600 for Nashville Dinner
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., June 22, 2024.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump will headline a fundraising campaign in Nashville on the sidelines of the Bitcoin Conference, where the highest ticket price is $844,600 per person.
According to an invite shared with CNBC, the July 27 event will coincide with Trump’s scheduled keynote speech at the conference, which is the largest gathering of cryptocurrency fans in the country.
The first-class tickets, which included a seat at the roundtable with Trump, cost the maximum amount of money individuals are allowed to donate to Trump and the Republican Party’s largest joint fundraising committee, known as the Trump 47 Commission.
The lower price, which includes a photo with the former president, is $60,000 per person or $100,000 per couple, according to the invitation.
Trump signed on to headline the rally at the Music City Center shortly before he survived an assassination attempt on July 13.
A Trump campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment about his appearance in Nashville.
In recent months, Trump has positioned himself as a pro-crypto presidential candidate, in contrast to his previous stance while in the White House.
In April, Trump launched his latest collection of non-fungible tokens on the solana blockchain in April and has created increasing price commenting on cryptocurrencies since then.
Trump’s campaign team is accept digital currency donationsand he has personally pledged to protect the rights of people who choose to self-custody their money, meaning they do not rely on a centralized entity like Cryptocurrency to keep their tokens and instead do so themselves in personal cryptocurrency wallets, sometimes beyond the control of the IRS.
Trump also vowed at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington in May to keep Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and “thugs” stay away from bitcoin holders.
Meanwhile, after a meeting at Mar-a-Lago with about a dozen bitcoin mining executives who pledged cash and votes to him, Trump declared that all future bitcoins will be minted in the United States, if he returns to the White House.
On Monday, the Republican presidential candidate named Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate — a move widely seen as a net win for the crypto sector. Vance has advocated for looser regulation of cryptocurrencies and revealed in 2022 that he personally holds bitcoin.
This is in stark contrast to the Biden White House, which has taken a skeptical approach to cryptocurrency regulation. Under Biden, the Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped up action against the sector.
In the absence of tough regulations from Congress, the United States has proven to be one of the most active enforcers of penalties and legal challenges against cryptocurrency companies.
In this election cycle, crypto has become a key channel for raising money — and votes.
A day later Trump has named Vance to his running mate, and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have told Andreessen Horowitz employees they plan to make significant donations to pro-Trump political action committees. Trump’s campaign.
“I think they sued over 30 of our companies,” Horowitz said. said on an episode of “The Ben & Marc Show,” featuring a16z co-founders.
“They’re losing most of these lawsuits, but the problem is when you’re a startup, you don’t have the money to fight the US government. And so they’re destroying the industry that way,” he said.
Fairshake, a super PAC backed by leading cryptocurrency companies, is now one of the biggest spenders this election cycle. Of the $160 million in contributions it has raised, 94% traceable with just four companies: Ripple, Andreesen Horowitz, Cryptocurrency and Jump Crypto.
In early June in San Francisco, technologists, cryptocurrency executives and venture capitalists pay up to $300,000 per ticket to attend a Trump fundraiser that eventually raised over $12 million.