Trump’s speech is delayed by an hour. After a half-hour wait, restless attendees begin chanting “Trump.” A woman sitting in front of me hums her own song:
“Bitcoin, bitcoin – that’s what they should be chanting.” She must have gotten the memo: This isn’t a Trump rally; it’s a Bitcoin rally.
When Trump finally takes the stage to “God bless the United States,” he basks in a standing ovation, “delighted… to be the first American president to ever speak at a Bitcoin event.” His next move is to pander to his supporters in the audience. “This is the kind of spirit that will help us make America great again. I stand before you today in full respect and admiration” for what he later calls all the “high-IQ individuals” in the room. He reiterates previous promises (releasing Ross on day one; never creating a central bank digital currency) and adds a few recent ones (the U.S. Bitcoin Strategic Reserve plan, which Senator Lummis details in a tiny speech after Trump’s speech; firing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a crypto industry foe). He promises that no one in the industry will have to move to China for work; and he says we’ll continue to operate fossil fuels. We will have so much electricity, he says, “will you say please, please, Mr. President… no more electricity, sir, we’ve had enough!”
As usual, he criticizes his political opponents and promises that no one in his administration will “wake up,” which he probably knows will resonate with bitcoin supporters. But he shows even greater understanding by appealing to the recipients’ wallets: Under his leadership, “Bitcoin and crypto will explode like never before.” The crowd goes wild.
As I leave the conference center after my speech, I notice a tuft of orange hair, swept to the side, disappearing up the escalator. I follow him.
“It was a very orange conversation,” says Trump impersonator Atlanta comedian Josh Warren when I ask how the speech went, immediately imitating Trump. “We asked people who was more orange, RFK or me, and the amazing thing is I’m still an orange person.”
Warren is not a bitcoin guy, but his stunt has been better received here than at the Libertarian National Convention in D.C. When I ask about his vote, he says it will be “for comedy.”
“We’re just here to disrupt the status quo. Humanity is killing comedy,” he says seriously, before returning to Trump’s game to add that “the deep state doesn’t want you to talk about things that make you think.”
In his introduction to Trump’s speech, Bailey called bitcoin “not a red thing. Not a blue thing. Not an orange thing.” [referencing the color of the bitcoin logo].” Before he joked that the Orange Party should be led by an Orange Man, he had a point. Bitcoin 2024 ticket holders aren’t necessarily the type of people who would describe themselves as Trump enthusiasts, though most who spoke to WIRED clearly plan to vote for him. What’s more, these are people who have traditionally distrusted government, a view that is now shared by much of mainstream society.
“I was born a conservative, I became a liberal. Now I’m coming back to conservative, mostly because of what I’ve seen in our country lately,” says Andrew Campbell, who came from Texas and wears a bitcoin pin along with his naturally bitcoin-orange hair. “I think we’ve gone too far left and we need to take a step back and focus.”