It will cost you almost one bitcoin to take a photo with Donald Trump at this weekend’s Bitcoin conference.
Trump is charging attendees of the year’s biggest Bitcoin event $60,000 — about 89% of the current price of an entire coin — to be snapped alongside him. If you’re a couple looking for a photograph with the former president, you’ll have to stump up $100,000.
At the time of his original announcement, $60,000 was more than a single bitcoin.
Trump’s ability to charge these outlandish sums reflects not only his fame but also the substantial demand for attending waypoints along his presidential campaign trail.
The Bitcoin 2024 conference has earned increased coverage after a recent assassination attempt left Trump with a bloody ear and bystander Corey Comperatore dead.
VIP passes for the event have sold out for all tiers below $16,590 and Trump is charging $844,600 for a conference roundtable reservation.
Security at the conference will be heightened before and during his speech and all attendees will be forced to exit the main hall while Secret Service officials sweep the premises and then pat-down all re-entrants.
Musk hypes Trump’s Bitcoin 2024 appearence
Elon Musk drew attention to Bitcoin 2024 yesterday after he suspended the X account of conference organizer, David Bailey. Around the time of Bailey’s suspension, flight trackers had geolocated Musk’s jet to a Tennessee landing, leading Bailey to speculate on a possible conference appearance by Musk.
That speculation ended promptly when Bailey lost his X account around lunchtime. Administrators at X eventually restored his account at around 9pm.
Around the same time on Sunday, Musk added laser eyes to his X profile picture. Bitcoiners interpreted the addition as a signal of his support for Bitcoin. ‘Laser eyes ’til $100K’ is a Bitcoin meme.
However, Effective Accelerationists (‘e/acc’) like Musk and venture capitalists like Marc Andreessen have used laser eyes to signal support for their cause. Not only that, laser eyes appear on the pro-Trump meme Dark Brandon. Musk could be playing on this Dark MAGA idea.
Also on Sunday afternoon, US president Joe Biden drew even more attention to the conference with a surprise announcement. Biden tweeted on X that he would withdraw from his 2024 re-election campaign and defer to another Democratic candidate.
Biden endorsed his current vice president, Kamala Harris, but the Democratic National Convention will ultimately decide who will become the frontrunner on August 19. Altogether, his surprise announcement has drawn attention to the only known presidential candidate, Donald Trump — and his upcoming speeches.
