Former US President Donald Trump’s transformation from a Bitcoin skeptic to a proponent has stunned the political and financial communities alike. This seismic shift that culminated at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville was a collaborative effort by a trio of influential Bitcoin advocates, led by David Bailey, CEO of media group BTC Inc. Their combined efforts have not only changed the outlook of a former president, but also highlighted the power of focused influence within the emerging Bitcoin sector, as a new report by CNBC shows.
How Trump Became Pro-Bitcoin
Bailey spearheaded the effort, organizing a campaign aimed at educating and converting Trump to the potential benefits of Bitcoin. The initiative began in the quiet ambiance of a Puerto Rican steakhouse and culminated on the lively stage of Nashville’s Music City Center. Bailey sought to align Bitcoin with Trump’s focus on American industrial supremacy and energy independence.
The crucial strategy session took place at Bottles, a steakhouse in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. It was there that Bailey, along with Amanda Fabiano and Tracy Hoyos-López, began their collaborative effort to change Trump’s perspective on Bitcoin. “We were sitting around a table with a group of people and David was like, ‘Hey, I’ve been talking to the administration and I want to have a roundtable discussion about mining“Can we chat this weekend?” Fabiano revealed.
Her deep connections in the mining sector and Tracy Hoyos-López’s legal expertise and political acumen were instrumental in lending credibility and orchestrating the logistics of these high-level discussions. Their backgrounds provided the necessary legitimacy to convince Trump of the industry’s significance and viability.
“Without Amanda, we wouldn’t have had the legitimacy to sell that this is a legitimate company. She’s the queen of the mines. She has all the miners. (…) If you want to be taken seriously, you have to take serious people. And it doesn’t get more serious than miners,” Hoyos-López said.
Following the initial meetings, Bailey facilitated a roundtable discussion at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, where leading Bitcoin mining executives gathered to discuss strategic issues directly with Trump. The session allowed Trump to delve into the technical and economics of BTC mining, presented as a solution to America’s energy shortage and a counterbalance to outside technological competition.
This roundtable was not only informative but also a strategic demonstration of the industry’s potential to mobilize people. significant financial resources—a key factor in Trump’s eventual case, according to the report. “That roundtable was really a jumping-off point of, ‘Okay, this industry is real, and they’re coming with dollars, and they’re coming with actually smart things to say and agenda items that are important to America,'” Fabiano revealed.
But when asked who is ultimately responsible for Donald Trump taking the “orange pill,” Bailey is modest. “There’s not necessarily one person who is responsible for taking the orange pill. I think, in terms of his 180-degree turn on this issue, it’s very natural. … In that sense, I think it’s kind of a match made in heaven,” he said.
At the Nashville Bitcoin 2024 conference, Trump publicly declared his support for BTC, marking a complete reversal from his previous stance. His speech emphasized a desire to have all remaining Bitcoin “mined, minted, and created in the U.S.”
Moreover, Trump announced that he would create a strategic BTC reserve. “The policy of my administration will be to retain 100 percent of all Bitcoin that the U.S. government currently owns or acquires in the future as the core of the strategic national Bitcoin reserve,” he said.
At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $63,042.
Main image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com