David Bailey, CEO of BTC Inc., revealed via X that he recently spoke with former US President Donald Trump in a non-public phone call about Bitcoin. Bailey’s post immediately ignited discussions across the community, particularly in light of Trump’s evolving stance on digital assets and his decision last week to pardon Ross Ulbricht.
Trump Is Bullish On Bitcoin
Bailey took to X to detail his conversation with Trump, writing:“Just talked with Donald Trump and thanked him for keeping his guarantees to our industry and to Ross. I asked him if he desired to share a message with the Bitcoin community…He said he’s with us 100%, we’re going to send Bitcoin to much greater heights, and we’re going to outcompete China and other countries that need to take it from us. Thanks President Trump for being the primary Bitcoin President. Guarantees made, guarantees kept.”
Bailey, whose company BTC Inc. is the parent organization of Bitcoin Magazine, has long been credited with helping Trump shift his view on BTC from skepticism to support.
Bailey responded to a barrage of questions from users following his post. One commentator asked if Trump was aware of concerns surrounding “shitcoins” within the US government’s stockpile of digital assets. Bailey replied: “We talked for ~10 minutes. Covered just a few topics, all Bitcoin related. I don’t think he’s aware of the priority and I didn’t raise it.”
One other user called on Bailey to supply proof, suggesting next time he should record the conversation. Bailey, nonetheless, underscored his commitment to privacy: “I’d never record a non-public conversation with the President and share it publicly to attain points on the web.”
When asked how the decision got here about, Bailey revealed:“He called me… I used to be notified ahead of time.” In an extra statement, Emily Bailey, Bailey’s wife and head of selling at BTC Inc., confirmed her husband’s account: “Can confirm. He called to say thanks, to David and to the Bitcoin industry. A lot of the call was about Ross and Lyn, justice and peace. It was only a friendly moment.”
Trump’s Shift
David Bailey’s interactions with Trump began when the previous president was largely critical of the BTC space. Over time, through personal discussions, Bailey and other advocates emphasized the ways Bitcoin could foster American technological leadership and energy independence.
These efforts culminated on the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, where Trump publicly endorsed Bitcoin, reversing his previously skeptical stance. During that event, he expressed a desire for all remaining BTC to be “mined, minted, and made within the USA,” and pledged to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve if re-elected. He also famously promised to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the founding father of the Silk Road dark web marketplace—a promise he fulfilled on January 21, 2025, shortly after his inauguration for his second term.
Since Trump’s crypto executive order establishing a “national digital asset stockpile,” there was a heated debate about which cryptocurrencies is perhaps included. Pierre Rochard, Vice President of Research at Riot Platforms, and several other other industry leaders have accused Ripple of being the “biggest obstacle” to a purely BTC-focused reserve. They allege that Ripple is spending large sums on lobbying efforts to broaden the reserve to a wider “crypto reserve,” presumably incorporating XRP.
Ripple’s executives have publicly denied any try to overshadow Bitcoin. They argue that diversifying the reserve to encompass multiple digital assets—including BTC—bolsters American innovation, allowing for wider economic advantages and robust competition against other nations entering the digital asset race.
At press time, BTC was down -4.5%, trading at $100,455.
Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com