Today, Former President Donald Trump has voiced strong support for Bitcoin and the broader crypto industry, calling it a vital American asset that the US must continue to dominate.

“So I became a fan of crypto, and to me it’s an industry,” Trump said. “I view it as an industry and I’m president and if we didn’t have it, China would or somebody else would, but most likely China.”

Trump emphasized the economic resilience and strategic importance of Bitcoin, pointing out its relative strength during recent market downturns. 

“In fact, when the stock market went down recently, crypto and Bitcoin and all of that went down much less than anybody else as a group,” he stated. “And we’ve created a very powerful industry and that’s much more important than anything that we invest in.”

The former president talked about his personal involvement with Bitcoin before launching his 2024 presidential campaign. “I got involved with it a couple of years ago and before this, before the second term, I got involved, before I decided to run… I was in Bitcoin then, not knowing if I was going to do it a third time,” he emphasized, referring to his decision to run again.

Trump also suggested that Bitcoin is becoming more mainstream. “It’s the jobs that it produces and I noticed more and more you paying Bitcoin. I mean, people are saying it takes a lot of pressure off the dollar. And it’s a great thing for our country, so I don’t care about investing, you know.”

He concluded by asserting that under his leadership, the US has built a critical industry in Bitcoin and crypto. “I have kids and they invest in different things. They do believe in it, but I’m president and what I did do there is build an industry that’s very important and you know if we didn’t have a China would,” Trump said.