Trump underscores committment to make US the 'crypto capital'

U.S. President Donald Trump attributed bitcoin's record highs to his commitment to making "America the crypto capital."

"Bitcoin set multiple all-time record highs because everyone knows that I'm committed to making America the crypto capital," Trump said at the Future Investment Initiative Institute conference on Wednesday in Miami. 

Bitcoin was hovering at close to $96,700 as of Wednesday evening after reaching an all-time high of over $108,000 earlier this year, according to The Block's price page. 

"We want to stay at the forefront of everything, and one of them is crypto, and Miami seems to be the center of the action, come to think of it, and maybe it'll stay there," Trump added. 

Before being elected president last year, Trump said he planned to make the U.S. "the crypto capital of the planet." Before and since taking office, Trump has made several moves to show support for digital assets including designating crypto-friendly former regulator Paul Atkins to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the key agencies that has had a significant role in trying to rein in the industry. 

Trump also launched TRUMP memecoin ahead of his inauguration with his wife, Melania Trump, following suit with one of her own, both reached billions of dollars in market cap. 

On Wednesday, Trump also mentioned his executive orders to keep the U.S. "at the forefront of artificial intelligence and to end Joe Biden's war on bitcoin and crypto."

Trump issued an executive order in January titled "Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology," which included a number of measures from creating a working group tasked with developing a federal regulatory framework and also looks to ban the use of a central bank digital currency. The working group would include top officials including the Treasury Secretary, Commerce Secretary and the chairs of the SEC, among others.

Trump also took to criticizing the SEC under the Biden administration on Wednesday. Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who left the agency last month, was skeptical of crypto, calling most cryptocurrencies securities. During his time there, the SEC brought numerous charges against crypto firms, many focused on them not registering lawfully. 

"We ended that war totally," Trump said. "That war is over. They were very hostile toward them until the very end because there's so many people on bitcoin and crypto that just before the end, the SEC came out, and they were being very nice." 

This comes as Washington is expected to have the most pro-crypto Congress yet, and pro-crypto lawmakers, such as Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, are leading key committees holding the purse strings for bills to regulate the industry.

Update: Feb. 19, 11:50 p.m. UTC to include details throughout.