Bitcoin
Trump Potentially Declaring Bitcoin a Strategic Reserve Asset Seen as a ‘Watershed Moment’ By Investing.com
Former US President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump may announce it as a “strategic reserve asset” during a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville later this month, according to rumors on social media.
Trump is widely expected to speak at the upcoming Bitcoin conference in Nashville, which will take place later this month.
Dennis Porter, co-founder and CEO of the Satoshi Action Fund, said he obtained this information from “reliable” sources.
“Adding #Bitcoin as a ‘strategic reserve’ to the US Treasury is a no-brainer and when the US does this, the paradigm will shift and the world will understand that they too should have a #Bitcoin position,” he wrote on X.
What are cryptocurrency experts saying?
Yves La Rose, co-founder of ExSat, told Investing.com that designating Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset in the United States “would mark a fundamental shift in the country’s financial strategy.”
“This move would leverage Bitcoin’s decentralized nature and global acceptance to increase economic resilience and stability. It would be a watershed moment that would validate Bitcoin’s digital gold narrative.”
Trump has previously expressed strong support for Bitcoin, highlighting its geopolitical importance. He warned that anti-Bitcoin policies would benefit adversaries like China and Russia. This statement not only positioned him as a pro-Bitcoin nominee but also sparked discussions about classifying Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.
“This initiative could potentially boost the price of Bitcoin, attract new investors and increase its legitimacy. Using seized assets to fund this reserve could help effectively utilize these holdings, reducing the need for additional Bitcoin purchases on the open market,” Iva Wisher, co-founder and COO of Prom, told Investing.com.
However, Wisher believes that this pro-crypto stance is part of Trump’s current strategy.
“The concrete expectations and implementation of this initiative will become clearer after the elections, and it is a very sensible time to draw final conclusions.”
Trump adviser Vivek Ramaswamy has also proposed backing the dollar with a basket of commodities, including Bitcoin. Similarly, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested that a portion of U.S. Treasury bills be backed by hard currencies, including the original cryptocurrency.
Senator Cynthia Lummis also supported the Federal Reserve diversifying its foreign currency assets with Bitcoin.
Other Bitcoin-friendly political leaders have championed Bitcoin’s merits as a strategic reserve asset. They argue that as Bitcoin continues to gain value, countries will compete to accumulate it, similar to other scarce commodities such as gold, silver, platinum, and oil reserves.
They argue that Bitcoin’s high returns make it an attractive asset for sovereigns to acquire now.
Could the US use seized assets?
The US currently leads the way in Bitcoin holdings, having seized massive amounts from illicit actors. According to some estimates, the US government holds over 200,000 bitcoins.
With Trump becoming the first pro-Bitcoin president, the US may start leveraging Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.
“This basically means that the Trump administration will consider Bitcoin an essential commodity that is worth having a lot of. If they follow through, it means that the U.S. government will have a lot of it on its hands,” Eric Parker, co-founder and CEO of Giddy, told Investing.com.
Parker added that the US has “acquired a ton” of Bitcoin “from criminal activities over the years.”
“Overall, this is good news, but the impact on prices is uncertain. If people start buying in a frenzy but the US government doesn’t pump money into it, we could see a drop.
“This could actually mean that they are serious about regulating cryptocurrencies and not just using it as campaign rhetoric,” Parker concluded.
Trump has reversed his previous anti-crypto stance. In 2019, he criticized Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, citing their volatility and potential for illegal use. However, earlier this year, at a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, he urged voters to support him if they favored crypto assets.
Crypto is now officially on the campaign trail, moving beyond mere mentions to appease certain voting demographics and fundraising PACs. The industry that has long sought legitimacy now finds it in Trump’s presence at a Bitcoin-centric conference.