Trump Says He Went Full Crypto Because "If We Don't, China Will" — Politics, Kids and All

US President Donald Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Monday that he became "a big crypto guy" largely out of geopolitical competition with China. Asked whether his newly announced "Trump Accounts" — investment vehicles for children under 18 — could include Bitcoin ($BTC), Trump replied, "I've become a big crypto guy only for one reason: If we don't have it, China's going to have it." He added, "I'm a fan, I wasn't initially, I didn't know much about it, but, for some of my first term, I wasn't much involved, and I watched it grow, and it's a huge industry."

Trump, who during his first term called Bitcoin "a scam," said his shift was also driven by political calculation. "I got involved in it a little bit for politics. I realized there are a lot of people that love crypto," he said. He described watching industry profits climb and concluded, "This thing's got a lot of life." The crypto lobby spent roughly $170 million in the 2024 election to back mostly Republican candidates, according to public filings, and is expected to spend heavily again ahead of the November midterms.

The president also distanced himself from his family's crypto holdings, which generated more than $1.4 billion in income over the past year per financial disclosures released June 30. Trump and his sons are listed as co-founders of World Liberty Financial, a platform tied to a large share of those gains. "I let my kids do whatever the hell they do. I don't talk to them, ever, talk to them about it," Trump said, adding that his pro-crypto stance was "not a question of a personal thing."

On regulation, Trump claimed the Biden administration "dropped all investigations" tied to crypto once he went "very pro-crypto." Under his administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission has ended, withdrawn or settled a series of enforcement actions against crypto firms, some of which had donated to Trump. "Every time I see a crypto guy where they dropped an investigation, I said: 'You're lucky I'm president,'" he said. Trump also noted that Blackstone, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Micron and Dell were present at the event, remarking on Dell's pledge and adding, "We're going to get that money back to them somehow."

Trump's Oval Office remarks landed while $BTC traded near $62,000 after briefly approaching $64,000 over the holiday weekend. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $223.5 million on July 2, the first daily net inflow since June 12, while analysts said sales by Strategy added pressure to price action. Trump closed by taking aim at short sellers: "A few people took short positions in the market. Poor things, they're in big trouble, they're being wiped out."