David Bailey and a group of leading Bitcoin executives approached Donald J. Trump just over a year ago while seated around a table in a lavish meeting room at Mar-a-Lago.
They were searching for a rescuer.
The industry’s viability was in jeopardy for years due to a broad assault on bitcoin businesses in Washington, which resulted in a series of lawsuits, regulatory attacks, and prosecutions.
Mr. Trump did not appear to be a clear supporter. He had previously written off Bitcoin as a fraud. However, the industry suddenly caught his attention, and he invited the executives to his private club in Florida. Mr. Bailey had urged his colleagues to raise $100 million for the election campaign and was encouraging cryptocurrency investors to support Mr. Trump.
Mr. Bailey welcomed officials from a number of sizable Bitcoin mining companies to Mar-a-Lago, an energy-intensive industry that has generated environmental concerns and noise complaints. After presenting Mr. Trump with the financial advantages of Bitcoin, they made the audacious request that he publish a positive message on his social media accounts.
According to a copy examined by The New York Times, the suggested language appeared at the bottom of a bullet-pointed meeting agenda. In an interview, Mr. Bailey, the CEO of the digital currency company BTC Inc., recalled that Mr. Trump had stated he would take it into consideration. We didn’t know if it would occur.
The executives’ identical message was included in a Truth Social post that Mr. Trump published that evening: We want all of the remaining Bitcoin to be produced in the United States! We’ll be able to dominate energy thanks to it!
David Bailey
The CEO of Bitcoin Inc.
David Sacks
White House cryptocurrency czar and Silicon Valley venture capitalist
Brad Garlinghouse
Ripple’s chief executive
Stuart Alderoty
Ripple’s chief legal officer
Charles Hoskinson
Input Output’s founder
Paul Manafort
Former chairman of the Trump campaign
Bill Zanker
Trump’s longtime business associate
Tracy Hoyos-L pez
An enthusiast for Bitcoin and a former prosecutor
Brian Ballard
Prominent Trump lobbyist and fundraiser
Reince Priebus
A former chief of staff of the White House
Eric Trump
The middle son of the president
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