Bitcoin 2024 Keynote: Who Nailed It, RFK Jr. Or Donald Trump?

The Bitcoin 2024 conference wrapped up Saturday after a three-day run packed with announcements from some of the cryptocurrency's key players, but the most talked about aspects of the summit were the speeches from presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump.

RFK Jr. vs Trump

Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat, announced his independent bid for the presidency last year. Recognized by the crypto industry as a long-time advocate for Bitcoin, he has secured attendance in some of the biggest events organized by crypto stakeholders, including last year's Bitcoin conference.

Trump, on the other hand, is remembered for previously being a $BTC critic, at one point calling the world's first decentralized digital asset as a likely "scam." In recent months, he has taken a positive viewpoint of the digital currency, gaining the support of some of the industry's prominent figures, including the Winklevoss twins.

RFK Jr. bares full commitment to $BTC

RFK Jr., who comes from what could be the United States' most famous political dynasty, spoke at the Bitcoin 2024 conference Friday, revealing that he is "fully committed" to Bitcoin. He was introduced as "the next President of the United States" before taking the Nakamoto Stage in Nashville.

He promised to sign an executive order that will make the International Revenue Service (IRS) issue guidance regarding $BTC transactions becoming "unreportable," and by extension, "nontaxable." As part of his $BTC-centric plans, he said he is looking to classify the federal government's 200,000 seized Bitcoins as a strategic asset under the U.S. Treasury Department.

He also said he would make the government buy 550 Bitcoins on a daily basis, with the ultimate goal of stashing a reserve of 4 million $BTC. The said strategy may have been inspired by El Salvador, which has been purchasing one Bitcoin daily since late 2022.

RFK Jr. had to stop multiple times during his speech as the crowd clapped and cheered.

Trump announces strategic $BTC 'stockpile'

The GOP presidential nominee took the Nakamoto Stage to loud cheers as the crypto community welcomed his change of heart in recent months.

He promised to "keep 100% of all Bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquired in the future ... as a core of the strategic national Bitcoin stockpile," a commitment similar to RFK Jr.'s strategic Treasury asset plan.

He acknowledged the hard work the tech people working behind the scenes put in, so the Bitcoin community retains its vitality. He also promised to fire U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler on his first day as the president, drawing ecstatic cheers from the audience.

What YouTube commenters are saying

YouTube users aired their thoughts about the keynote addresses of the two presidential candidates, with many in the comments section under Bitcoin Magazine's video of RFK Jr.'s keynote saying he "understands Bitcoin."

Under the Trump video, some commenters said it was "painful to watch" Trump ramble on during his keynote, noting that the former president "knows absolutely nothing about Bitcoin and didn't care to prepare for the speech."

On the other hand, many were happy about his declaration of removing Gensler from his position. Gensler has repeatedly been criticized by the crypto space for his alleged attacks targeting the industry.

X users react

One user said the 2024 presidential race is "unfair" for Kennedy Jr. as he is supposedly faced with "a media blackout and Trump [is] being promoted center stage across social media and mainstream media." The user accused Bitcoin's YouTube channel of removing RFK Jr.'s keynote address.

The official account of the American Values 2024 (AV24) super PAC said RFK Jr.'s speech at the conference "proved without a shadow of a doubt that he is truly the Bitcoin Candidate."

One user said Trump's performance was "very low voltage and overhyped," as opposed to RFK Jr. whom the user said "stole the thunder."

An advocacy group said Trump's speech was supposed to be "about how he is pro Bitcoin" but it turned "into another normal Trump campaign speech." The group's X handle said the former president's address "just made evident that RFK Jr. is the only pro crypto presidential candidate in 2024."

On the other hand, other crypto users were optimistic about Trump's promises. Ian Balina, the CEO of AI-driven investment research platform for crypto, Token Metrics, said the former president's commitments "could mark the beginning of the longest bull run ever."

Alex Thorn, the head of research at Galaxy Digital, said the business mogul "checked most of the boxes [on Bitcoin] pretty effectively," while another user said Trump's speech was indeed "cringy" but the community should remember "he's only months into his journey." Many were forgiving of Trump's performance and believed the Republican could move the U.S. crypto space forward.

Crypto creation protocol project Giants Planet believes the address was "powerful," and a well-followed crypto user pointed out that regardless of how Trump performed during his Bitcoin 2024 keynote, the "community has now, for the first time, seen a former and potential U.S. president endorse the cryptocurrency as a strategic reserve asset for the country," and the endorsement will be "consequential."