Today in crypto, Donald Trump made a last-ditch effort to appeal to crypto voters, Bitcoin’s foundational document, the white paper written by its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, turned 16, and BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) recorded its largest day of inflows since it launched.
Trump wishes “Happy 16th anniversary” to Satoshi's white paper
With less than a week until the US presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump took to social media to commemorate the 16th anniversary of Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin white paper.
In a social media post on Truth Social, the former president wished a “Happy 16th Anniversary” to the Bitcoin white paper and reminded pro-crypto voters that he has pledged to work in their favor. This includes ending “Kamala’s war on crypto” and ensuring that “Bitcoin will be made in the USA,” he said.
With the presidential election looming, most polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump competing in tight races in key battleground states. Early voting will end on Nov. 1 in several states, including the battlegrounds of Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.
In addition to his pro-crypto campaign, Trump has promised to release Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht from prison if he’s elected president.
“If you vote for me, on day one I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht,” Trump said in May.
Silk Road was shut down by the FBI in 2013, with Ulbricht convicted two years later on various charges. He was sentenced to two life sentences, plus 40 years and no potential for parole.
Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
On Oct. 31, 2008, Nakamoto shared the “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” white paper with a cryptography mailing list, proposing a decentralized, peer-to-peer network capable of preventing double-spending through proof-of-work consensus.