Bitcoin 2024 Key Takeaways: $BTC-Centric Executive Orders, Strategic Reserve Bill, Firing Gensler

Bitcoin 2024, the largest cryptocurrency event this year, wrapped up with a bang in Nashville, TN, over the weekend, triggering a wave of hope among Bitcoiners and setting the stage for the 2025 conference in Las Vegas.

Aside from the many creative booths and presentations by some of the leading crypto firms, the conference featured keynote speeches from influential names, as well as announcements from key figures that turned the crowd nuts.

Cantor Fitzgerald holds a lot of $BTC

Howard Lutnick, the CEO of investment management giant Cantor Fitzgerald, revealed during his speech at the event that the company "and all of its partners are a fan of Bitcoin." He went on to reveal that Cantor Fitzgerald own "a s***load" of the world's largest digital asset by market value.

While a host of other investment firms already hold Bitcoin, Lutnick's announcement further solidifies the fact that traditional financial institutions are now embracing the potential of $BTC.

Whistleblower discourages blindly voting for pro-crypto candidates

Intelligence contractor Edward Snowden spoke during the event, discussing how the public now understands "there is a new center of power that is rising." Snowden's confidential info leaks in 2013 that showed shocking U.S. spy apparatus gathering private data on people around the world resulted in his exile.

In his virtual Bitcoin 2024 speech, Snowden reminded Bitcoiners to be mindful of who they will support during the November elections. "By all means, cast your vote but don't join a cult," he warned.

His comments came after Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said he was against the "trend" in the crypto industry wherein key players are calling on crypto holders to vote for candidates who have expressed support for the sector. "I argue that making decisions in this way carries a high risk of going against the values that brought you into the crypto space in the first place," he wrote.

Lummis announces bill making $BTC as strategic reserve

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., made an announcement on a matter within the Bitcoin community that has been at center of talks among the digital coin's holders a week before the conference: $BTC as a strategic reserve asset for the U.S. The Republican senator brought on stage a document that she said was the "Bitcoin Reserve Bill," which seeks to establish the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency as a strategic reserve asset.

"We will convert excess reserves at our 12 federal reserve banks into Bitcoin over five years. We have the money now!" she told Bitcoiners. Her statements were met with cheers from the audiences. She projected that the strategy can "cut our debt in half by 2045."

RFK Jr. vows $BTC executive orders if elected

Before taking the stage, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate and one of a few early adopters of $BTC in the political space, delivered a speech that some outlets said "upstaged" Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, talked in depth about Bitcoin's impact on the U.S. economy and its potential to drive economic development. He also said he hopes Trump's "change of heart in Bitcoin is evidence of a new-found and deep-seated commitment [to] personal freedoms to our Constitution, to our Bill of Rights."

He said that if he gets elected, he will issue an executive order directing the International Revenue Service (IRS) to release public guidance that "all transactions in Bitcoin and the U.S. dollar are unreportable transactions, and by extension non-taxable." He also announced two other executive orders focused on maximizing $BTC as a strategic asset.

Trump promises Gensler will be out

Trump, who is leading the latest presidential polls, promised he will keep Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and the people around her from targeting the crypto industry. While the audiences clapped in support of Trump's statements, they went wild after Trump followed up his promise by saying he will "fire Gary Gensler" on his first day as the U.S. president should he win in November. "I didn't know he was that unpopular," the GOP candidate said.

He repeated the statement, to a roaring crowd that whistled and cheered – the crypto industry has repeatedly called out U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chief Gensler for his alleged actions that sought to destroy the emerging industry.

Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas

The event's organizers announced Saturday, on the last day of the conference, that Bitcoin 2025 will be held in Las Vegas, NV. Tickets are now available for purchase.

A teaser ad suggested that some of "the brightest minds of the world" have already confirmed their appearance at next year's event, including El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.