Bo Hines, the executive director of Trump’s digital assets advisory, spoke of Bitcoin as something the government could grow endlessly. “We want as much of it as we can possibly get,” he said at the conference. “We’re not going to sell any Bitcoin that we have in the U.S. government, period.”

On the other hand, Trump’s crypto czar David Sacks was more measured in his words. He said that he “can’t promise anything,” but that he hoped the government would be able to buy more Bitcoin. “If either the Commerce Department or the Treasury Department can figure out how to fund it without adding to the debt, then they are allowed to create those programs,” he claimed. “Maybe find the money from some other program that’s not using it.”

While they struck different tones, Vance, Hines, and Sacks all spoke of Bitcoin as an asset class. Whether it could constitute a new financial system—the currency’s original mission —was outside the question. But Eric Trump—while not an administration official, is certainly influential on Trump policy—claimed that crypto could replace banking entirely: “It makes everything cheaper, it makes it faster, it makes it safer, it makes it more transparent.” He said that he’d “love to see some of the big banks go extinct.”

What does the Trump administration really think about Bitcoin?

Trump has backed crypto expansion forcefully, but his rationale remains slippery. At the recent Blockworks Digital Asset Summit , Trump told the audience that they will “unleash an explosion of international growth,” but didn’t explain how, other than a brief reference to stablecoins supporting the dollar. “It is exciting to watch as you invent the future of finance,” Trump said, while not venturing to explain whether that future included traditional banks.

Why is Trump so into crypto? Much of it is likely for personal gain. Trump has raked in millions on his memecoins and NFTs, sending cash directly to his wallet. Crypto advocates also helped Trump reach the White House in the first place. Their lobby has political heft: According to a New Yorker report, they tanked Katie Porter’s California Senate bid after she expressed mere glimmers of anti-crypto rhetoric.

But there’s a political tension underlying Trump’s crypto push. If he says that crypto will replace banking—or even fiat currency—traditional financiers could riot. But, if he claims that Bitcoin is merely an asset class and not the future of finance, he could anger the crypto community.

For now, Trump and his administration will try to sit on both sides of the fence.

This post originally appeared at fastcompany.com
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