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Trump is set to speak on Saturday at the conference in
Nashville, Tennessee, which is estimated to have about 20,000
attendees.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Kennedy was favored by 8% of voters in a recent Reuters poll,
which could be significant if he draws voters from Trump or
Kamala Harris, poised to become the Democratic nominee. Kennedy
has yet to qualify for the ballot in many states.
Kennedy's comments come after Trump recently suggested to
Kennedy that he could support the former president's campaign.
KEY QUOTES
"President Trump has orange hair... But I have an orange heart,"
Kennedy said in the conference speech, referring to the color of
the bitcoin logo. "I hope President Trump's commitment to
bitcoin is more than political expediency."
Kennedy promised that if elected as president he would direct
the U.S. Treasury to purchase enough bitcoin to build a reserve
comparable to U.S. gold reserves. He would also make direct
ownership of bitcoin tax-free.
CONTEXT
Trump recently slammed Democrats' attempts to regulate the
sector and indicated he would like to see expanded bitcoin
mining by U.S. firms, even though in 2021 he called bitcoin a
"scam."
The Republican Party increasingly has courted crypto holders'
votes by promising lighter regulation.
WHAT'S NEXT
Conference attendees on Friday said they were looking forward to
seeing Trump speak on Saturday.
"Make Bitcoin Great Again" red hats, a play on Trump's "Make
America Great Again" slogan, were for sale at the conference.
THE RESPONSE
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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