NASHVILLE, Tennessee, July 27 (Reuters) - Republican

presidential candidate Donald Trump told a bitcoin conference on

Saturday that the U.S. must dominate the sector or China would,

his latest move to court advocates of cryptocurrency, which

Beijing has restricted and which he once dismissed as a "scam."

Speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 convention in Nashville, Trump

positioned himself as the pro-cryptocurrency candidate ahead of

the Nov. 5 presidential election, saying he would make the U.S.

the world's cryptocurrency leader and embrace friendlier

regulations than likely Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala

Harris.

The Republican Party has promised lighter regulation for

crypto, and Trump has slammed Democrats' attempts to regulate

the sector.

"If we don't embrace crypto and bitcoin technology, China

will, other countries will. They'll dominate, and we cannot let

China dominate. They are making too much progress as it is,"

Trump said.

China has cracked down on cryptocurrency and there are

strict controls on capital movement across its border. But

people there are still able to trade tokens such as bitcoin on

crypto exchanges, and Chinese investors can also open overseas

bank accounts to buy crypto assets.

Trump said he would establish a crypto presidential advisory

council and create a national "stockpile" of bitcoin using

cryptocurrency the U.S. government currently holds that was

largely seized in law enforcement actions.

"Never sell your bitcoin," Trump said. "If I am elected, it

will be the policy of my administration, the United States of

America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government

currently holds or acquires into the future," he said.

Trump added that he would like to see expanded bitcoin

mining by U.S. firms, even though he called cryptocurrency a

"scam" in 2021.

The

price of bitcoin

initially eased after Trump's speech, but then

rebounded and was last quoted up 0.94% at $68,182.

Trump also reiterated that he would commute the sentence of

Ross Ulbricht, who is serving a life sentence for creating and

operating the website Silk Road, which allowed users to secretly

buy and sell drugs and other illegal products.

Ulbricht's time served was "enough," Trump said to applause

and chants of "Free Ross" from the crowd.

Countries around the world, including the U.S., have shown

concern that privately operated, highly volatile digital

currencies could undermine government control of the financial

and monetary systems, increase systemic risk, promote financial

crime and hurt investors.

Digital asset proponents say that cryptocurrency users are

becoming a growing political force this election cycle, although

it is unclear just how many users would prioritize crypto over

other issues at the ballot box.

Some crypto advocates are backing Trump, and any move by the

U.S. to create a national bitcoin reserve likely would be seen

by them as major move to legitimize cryptocurrency.

Jack Mallers, CEO of global bitcoin app Strike, told Reuters

that Trump's proposal to create a strategic bitcoin reserve was

an "unbelievable vote of confidence."

Meanwhile, crypto executives are upset with the Securities

and Exchange Commission's enforcement actions under U.S.

President Joe Biden.

The agency has alleged that several crypto companies,

including Coinbase and Binance, facilitate the trading

of digital assets on their platform that should have been

registered as securities, which the firms deny.

A group of nearly 30 Democratic lawmakers and Congressional

candidates sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee

and Harris on Saturday, urging them to take a "forward-looking"

approach to digital assets.

"From an electoral standpoint, crypto and blockchain

technologies have an outsized impact in ensuring victories up

and down the ballot," they wrote.