Former United States President Donald Trump has promised to make the US a "Bitcoin superpower" if returned to the White House and said that he will appoint an advisory council to design transparent regulatory guidance for the benefit of the entire industry.

But Trump, the Republican nominee, stopped short of proposing a formal federal reserve of digital currency. 

Trump made a series of cryptocurrency-friendly policy commitments during remarks at a Bitcoin convention Saturday, including promising to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler and creating a "strategic national Bitcoin stockpile."

"I'm laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world," Trump, 78, said.

Bitcoin is the world's first widely adopted cryptocurrency -- it allows for secure and seamless peer-to-peer transactions on the internet.

He also warned that Bitcoin investors in the audience will be crushed if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected as president.

"They (Democrats) want to choke you. They want to choke you out of business. We're not going to let that happen. And no longer will your government sit by and watch as Bitcoin jobs and businesses flee to other countries because America's laws are too unclear and too tough and too angry and too stiff. We will keep each and every Bitcoin job in the United States of America," Trump said in his address to the Bitcoin2024 Conference, the cryptocurrency industry's largest annual gathering, in Nashville's Music City Center.

Trump is the first major party candidate to address the annual cryptocurrency conference.

Trump also promised to "immediately" establish a "Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council," which he said would provide "transparent regulatory guidance" for the cryptocurrency sector. 

"I am proud to be the first American president to address a Bitcoin event anywhere in the world. If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA," he said. 

"We will have regulations, but from now on, the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry. People who want to make it clear and simple, straightforward and fair. People that want to see your industry thrive, not dive," he said. -- PTI