David Bailey, CEO of BTC Inc., revealed via X that he recently spoke with former US President Donald Trump in a private 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 promises to our industry and to Ross. I asked him if he wanted 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 want to take it from us. Thank you President Trump for being the first Bitcoin President. Promises made, promises 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” in the US government’s stockpile of digital assets. Bailey replied: “We talked for ~10 minutes. Covered a few topics, all Bitcoin related. I don’t think he’s aware of the concern and I didn’t raise it.”
Another user called on Bailey to provide proof, suggesting next time he should record the conversation. Bailey, however, underscored his commitment to privacy: “I would never record a private conversation with the President and share it publicly to score points on the internet.”
When asked how the call came about, Bailey revealed:“He called me… I was notified ahead of time.” In an additional statement, Emily Bailey, Bailey’s wife and head of marketing at BTC Inc., confirmed her husband’s account: “Can confirm. He called to say thank you, to David and to the Bitcoin industry. Most of the call was about Ross and Lyn, justice and peace. It was just a friendly moment.”
Trump’s Shift
David Bailey’s interactions with Trump began when the former 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 at 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 in the USA,” and pledged to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve if re-elected. He also famously promised to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the founder 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 has been a heated debate about which cryptocurrencies might be included. Pierre Rochard, Vice President of Research at Riot Platforms, and several 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 attempt to overshadow Bitcoin. They argue that diversifying the reserve to encompass multiple digital assets—including BTC—bolsters American innovation, allowing for wider economic benefits 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
