By Stephanie Kelly

NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr on Friday questioned Republican nominee Donald Trump's recent pro-cryptocurrency stance, as the two vie for votes in November's election from crypto-holders at the Bitcoin 2024 conference.

Trump is set to speak on Saturday at the conference in Nashville, Tennessee, which is estimated to have about 20,000 attendees.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Kennedy was favored by 8% of voters in a recent Reuters poll, which could be significant if he draws voters from Trump or Kamala Harris, poised to become the Democratic nominee. Kennedy has yet to qualify for the ballot in many states.

Kennedy's comments come after Trump recently suggested to Kennedy that he could support the former president's campaign.

KEY QUOTES

"President Trump has orange hair... But I have an orange heart," Kennedy said in the conference speech, referring to the color of the bitcoin logo. "I hope President Trump's commitment to bitcoin is more than political expediency."

Kennedy promised that if elected as president he would direct the U.S. Treasury to purchase enough bitcoin to build a reserve comparable to U.S. gold reserves. He would also make direct ownership of bitcoin tax-free.

CONTEXT

Trump recently slammed Democrats' attempts to regulate the sector and indicated he would like to see expanded bitcoin mining by U.S. firms, even though in 2021 he called bitcoin a "scam."

The Republican Party increasingly has courted crypto holders' votes by promising lighter regulation.

WHAT'S NEXT

Conference attendees on Friday said they were looking forward to seeing Trump speak on Saturday.

"Make Bitcoin Great Again" red hats, a play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan, were for sale at the conference.

THE RESPONSE

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)