Donald Trump has found a new target in his long list of beefs: China, specifically regarding crypto. He believes China could beat America in the crypto game for a bunch of reasons even though China doesn’t even like crypto.
Yet.
Trump has been publicly loving crypto for months now. He says if the U.S. doesn’t get its act together, China will take the lead in crypto. This could give China a huge economic edge globally.
Trump’s push for crypto leadership
Trump’s pushing for quick action. He’s worried China is moving fast in this space. He says, “if we don’t do it, China will.” He links being a crypto leader to dominating in tech, science, manufacturing, AI, and space.
Trump wants the U.S. to lead in all these areas. By going big on crypto, the former president wants to counter China’s growing influence and tech advancements. This is all part of his bigger fight against China on many fronts.
Trump is setting himself apart from what he sees as the Biden administration’s attack on cryptocurrencies. His stance fits right in with his “America First” policy and his worries about China’s rise in dominance.
His plans
Trump has a list of actions he thinks will keep the U.S. on top in the crypto world. First, he wants to make it easier for the crypto industry by cutting down on regulations.
He’s also floating the idea of a National Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Trump calls it a “permanent national asset” but hasn’t given a lot of details yet. Another is his plan to replace Gary Gensler, the current SEC chair, with someone who would support the crypto industry.
Trump wants to turn America into the “crypto capital of the world” and a “Bitcoin superpower.” He said he was creating a “crypto army” to fight the Democrats on election day. And as part of his campaign strategy, Trump started accepting cryptocurrency donations.
Trump’s vision for a national Bitcoin “stockpile” is pretty ambitious. He wants to make Bitcoin a permanent national asset, similar to gold or oil reserves. He plans to keep all the Bitcoin the U.S. government holds or gets in the future.
This includes about 210,000 Bitcoins, worth around $14 billion, seized from illegal operations like the Silk Road dark market.
The idea is to hold this stockpile for at least 20 years, according to legislation being drafted by Senator Cynthia Lummis. One goal of this Bitcoin reserve is to potentially reduce the national debt.
Cynthia suggested it “can cut our debt in half.” Trump’s plan also includes big expansion goals. Lummis’s proposed bill aims to gather 1 million Bitcoins, about 5% of the world’s Bitcoin, over five years. He also wants to convert excess reserves at the twelve Federal Reserve banks into Bitcoin over five years.
