Trump calls Bitcoin speech by Coin Center director the GOAT
Key Takeaways
- Donald Trump praised Peter Van Valkenburgh's Senate testimony as the best explanation of Bitcoin.
- Trump's administration has shifted to a pro-crypto stance, promoting crypto-friendly initiatives and regulation.
Trump on Sunday shared a video on Truth Social in which Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center, gave a detailed breakdown of Bitcoin. He praised it as the “greatest Bitcoin explanation of all time.”
The video features Van Valkenburgh’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs during a hearing titled “ Exploring the Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Ecosystem ” in 2018.
“Bitcoin is the world’s first cryptocurrency, and it works because of the world’s first public blockchain network,” Van Valkenburgh said in his testimony . “It lets you send and receive value to and from anyone in the world using nothing more than a computer and an internet connection.”
He also addressed potential vulnerabilities in traditional financial systems, warning that corporate intermediaries controlling key infrastructure are becoming increasingly concentrated and that their failures are having more severe consequences.
Trump, who had criticized Bitcoin and digital assets during his first term, has emerged as a supporter of crypto in his second presidency, becoming the first pro-crypto president in US history.
His administration has implemented several crypto-friendly initiatives, including signing an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve using government-seized coins.
On Friday, Trump enacted the GENIUS Act , which would establish federal standards for regulating stablecoins in the US.
