“We hope all remaining bitcoins are made in the United States!” Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump expressed strong support for Bitcoin in a post on “Truth Social” last month. In the same article, he acknowledged the geopolitical significance of the world’s largest cryptocurrency and warned that any policy attempting to hinder Bitcoin would only help Russia. Trump’s statement not only made him the first nominee in a major political party to support Bitcoin but also shifted the discussion towards categorizing Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.
With the rise of Bitcoin-friendly political leaders, these discussions are gaining more attention in policy circles. For instance, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has been providing advice to President Trump on Bitcoin and digital assets since January. In the final weeks of his campaign, Ramaswamy outlined a unique stance suggesting that the U.S. dollar be backed by a basket of commodities, which may include Bitcoin.
Ramaswamy’s plan resonates with a similar proposal from independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, where a small portion of U.S. debt would be supported by “hard currency, gold, silver, platinum, or Bitcoin.” The purpose of Ramaswamy and Kennedy’s proposals is to curb inflation by pegging the dollar to deflationary assets over time to maintain its value.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, known as the “Crypto Queen” in Congress, is another supporter of using Bitcoin to improve national finances. In February 2022, she suggested diversifying the Fed’s balance sheet by adding Bitcoin to its $40 billion in foreign currency reserves. She still sees the benefits of holding digital currencies as part of the national financial portfolio.
After Trump’s post hinted at the growing political significance of Bitcoin, I asked Senator Lummis for her thoughts on the discussions surrounding Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. Senator Lummis seems interested in this idea. In her words, “Bitcoin is an incredibly valuable store of wealth, and I certainly see the benefits of diversifying our country’s investments.”
Tags: cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Trump, Jinse Finance