(Reuters) - The price of bitcoin eased on Saturday as U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told an audience of cryptocurrency enthusiasts that bitcoin was going to the moon and he wanted the U.S. to lead the way.

Trump was speaking at a Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, part of a broader Republican effort to court crypto holders ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Bitcoin was last quoted down 0.96% at $66,814.

(Reporting by Alden Bentley; Editing by Rod Nickel)