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Connor Sephton

Features writer

Connor Sephton

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Connor Sephton is a journalist based in London, who also works for Sky News and the BBC as a radio newsreader and online reporter. He has covered crypto since 2018 — reporting from major conferences…

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Elena Bozhkova

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Elena Bozhkova

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Elena is the Features Lead at Cryptonews.com. With a Master’s degree in science journalism from City University, London, she is passionate about exploring complex topics in the world of technology.

Last updated: 

May 28, 2025

BTC’s price didn’t really flinch during JD Vance’s speech to the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas — primarily because it didn’t deliver that “rabbit out of the hat” moment that the markets had been hoping for.

But make no mistake, this was a significant moment. Addressing the crowd in front of a lectern bearing the vice presidential seal, his speech attracted widespread media attention across countless television networks.

The free publicity for Bitcoin will unhelpfully aid his prediction that 100 million Americans will one day invest in digital assets — doubling from current levels.

Vance began by attempting a few jokes. One about shilling his own meme coin didn’t really land, but there were ripples of laughter when he said his Secret Service detail was nervous because Bitcoiners “really like guns.”

He went to great lengths to assert his own credentials as a Bitcoiner — and praised how crypto has “expanded banking access for many,” with “ground-breaking” uses continually emerging for blockchain technology.

The Vice President argued that crypto is a “hedge against bad policymaking from Washington, no matter what party is in control,” but some of those who saw their portfolios take a beating during the Trump tariff debacle may disagree here.

Vance also won round the crowd by declaring “there’s a new sheriff in town” — and Donald Trump’s return means “crypto finally has a champion and an ally in the White House.”

“After four years of mistreatment and hostility led by Demorat regulators, lawmakers in this country have a choice: will we lead our country into a future of financial sovereignty and prosperity?”

A substantial chunk of this speech was spent looking back, rather than looking forward. Vance lashed out at “unelected bureaucrats” who stymied the digital assets space during the Biden era, namely Gary Gensler — and vowed that “Operation Chokepoint 2.0 is dead and not coming back.”

“We’ve got to clean up the wreckage that the last administration left us — and since day one that’s what we’ve been trying to do.”

While Bitcoin conference organizers like to insist that the discussion is focused on all BTC, all the time, Vance dedicated a chunk of his speech to stablecoins — and the GENIUS Act that’s currently working its way through Congress.

“In this administration, we do not think stablecoins threaten the integrity of the U.S. dollar — quite the opposite. We view them as a force multiplier of our economic might.”

He also stressed that Bitcoin, as well as stablecoins, are here to stay — and are now welcome in the mainstream economy.

“Right now, in this Congress and with this administration, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unleash innovation and improve the lives of countless American citizens. But if we fail to create regulatory clarity now, we risk chasing this $3 trillion industry offshore in search of a friendlier jurisdiction, and President Trump is going to fight to make sure that does not happen.”

Vance added that he wants to ensure that “Democrats never wage another war on the crypto community.”

But perhaps the most interesting part of his speech came towards the end, when he offered a few bits of advice for the Bitcoiners assembled in the room. While he praised the industry’s organization during the 2024 election, Vance suggested there had been inadequate pushback during Gensler’s time at the SEC — and the crypto industry doesn’t have time to rest on its laurels.

Stressing that “every victory that we win is only a provisional victory,” he said:

“There’s a lesson to take — unless you guys get involved in politics, politics is going to ignore this industry.”

Vance said Bitcoin’s future “has to be a two-way conversation” — with investors and executives who have intricate knowledge of this digital asset taking a leading role in showing how it “can play a positive role in the strategic future of this country.”

“We don’t want to wake up in a country 10 years from now that is less wealthy and less prosperous because we made bad decisions today. We’re going to make the right decisions but that depends on you being part of the conversation.”

He also ended on a rather cryptic remark that was left explained — and claimed that, in broad terms, a political divide exists between new technologies. Vance said that while those on the right tend to gravitate towards Bitcoin, AI is more favored by the left.

From the podium, the Vice President predicted that “AI is going to affect in good and bad ways what happens to Bitcoin” — without explaining how.

“Make sure you’re keeping tabs on and staying involved in what’s happening with AI — I don’t want Bitcoin to be negatively affected by what happens in AI.”

Vance’s speech to Bitcoin 2025 wasn’t one of substance, but it was one of visibility.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance doubled down on the Trump administration’s deregulatory stance toward the crypto sector in remarks at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

During his speech, Vance reaffirmed the administration’s opposition to former United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler’s regulation-by-enforcement approach to cryptocurrencies.

“We reject regulators,” Vance said. “We fired Gary Gensler, and we’re going to fire everybody like him.”

The former Senator from Ohio further claimed that the Trump administration is committed to cleaning up the “wreckage” from former U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, which saw extensive guardrails placed on the blockchain sector.

“We prioritize eliminating the rules, the red tape, and the lawfare that we saw aimed at our crypto by our predecessors,” Vance said. “We’re ending the weaponization of federal regulations against this community. To put it simply, Operation Chokepoint 2.0 is dead, and it is not coming back under the Trump administration.”

“With President Trump, crypto finally has a champion and an ally in the White House,” he added.

Trump’s Crypto Ties Face Scrutiny

Vance’s comments come just days after Trump hosted an exclusive dinner for the top 220 investors of his namesake memecoin at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C.

Critics of the event argue that the gala may have violated key presidential ethics provisions, citing concerns over potential foreign influences’ ability to purchase the cryptocurrency.

In a May 14 letter, three key Democratic members of the House of Representatives urged U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to unseal suspicious activity reports (SARs) into “politically oriented” Trump-affiliated ventures.

“Because the identities of the coin purchasers need not be publicly disclosed, there is no way to tell who is buying the coin, potentially allowing bad actors, including authoritarian governments and companies they control, to enrich the Trump family,” the House members said of $TRUMP.

The U.S. lawmakers have asked the requested SARs to be returned by May 30, though it remains unclear how Bessent will proceed.