In late July, Nashville’s Music City Center, usually buzzing with country music, became the epicenter of the cryptocurrency world. The occasion? A huge Bitcoin conference was held at which former president Donald Trump gave a surprising-and-energizing-for-the-audience keynote speech. For almost 50 minutes, Trump unabashedly touted Bitcoin — an absolute turnabout from his previous stance of labeling the digital currency a “scam.”

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“If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA,” Trump declared to a packed room, sending a clear message to the Bitcoin miners who power the network. The bold claim was met with great applause in contrast to his skeptical stance in the past.

This was no overnight transformation of his former crypto critic status to a fierce champion, but a result of a well-orchestrated campaign by a network of crypto advocates that finally managed to reach out to Trump.

The tipping point in Trump’s conversion came courtesy of three friends from Puerto Rico: Amanda Fabiano, a prominent Bitcoin miner; Tracy Hoyos-López, a former prosecutor; and David Bailey, the CEO of BTC Inc., the conference organizer.

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These three played a pivotal role in persuading Trump to embrace Bitcoin and publicly display his support in Nashville.

“We were at dinner with a bunch of people, and David was like, ‘Hey, I’ve been talking to the administration, and I want to do a roundtable on mining. Can we chat this weekend?,” Fabiano recalled. The dinner, at a steakhouse called Bottles in San Juan, marked the beginning of a plan that would eventually lead to Trump’s star turn at the Nashville conference. 

For months, Bailey had been in conversations with the Trump campaign, discussing Bitcoin’s uses and its place within the American economy. When an offer came to meet Trump at Trump Tower, he jumped at it, poised to set up a roundtable for Bitcoin miners and host a major fundraiser.

The newly minted Bitcoin enthusiast herself, Hoyos-López, was bursting with a desire to help. She leveraged her connections in Trump’s orbit to set up introductions. “Without Amanda, we wouldn’t have had the legitimacy to sell that this is a legitimate business,” Hoyos-López said. Fabiano’s deep mining connections lent credibility to their cause.

But despite the setbacks, their determination did not go entirely unrewarded. In mid-June, Trump invited a coterie of high-ranking crypto executives to a closed-door meeting at Mar-a-Lago. According to its attendees, the meeting was intense and productive, setting the stage for Trump’s appearance in Nashville. 

“That roundtable really showed Trump this industry is serious,” Fabiano said. As the conference drew near, the pressure mounted. “We had to gather the right people in the room to ensure our success,” Fabiano elaborated. The attendees, each investing $500,000, comprised some of the most prominent figures in the industry.

Trump’s keynote speech in Nashville was a defining moment for his campaign and the crypto industry. For the audience, the pledge to protect American Bitcoin and remove SEC Chair Gary Gensler resonated deeply.

Reflecting on the event, Hoyos-López said, “We created the table, and we brought everyone to the table, which is literally what this community is all about.”

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