Critics on the right and left say the bitcoin reserve is a pointless industry handout — and using tariff revenue is even dumber.

IF DONALD TRUMP’S sweeping global tariffs send household good prices soaring and drive the economy into recession, at least one industry could profit.

The Trump administration is considering using tariff revenues to buy Bitcoin for a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” a top administration crypto official said in an interview last week.

The White House’s proposal is driving interest from crypto industry figures who have made building the reserve one of their top priorities.

It is uniting critics on the right and left, however, who have cast the reserve as a pointless industry giveaway that will come at the expense of ordinary taxpayers. Using tariff money would add insult to injury, they say.

  • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
    3·
    7 hours ago

    Yeah, we can’t let them do this… Bitcoin is electric cash, once they have public funds in Bitcoin, they have turned it into private funds, they’ve already pocketed it. We can’t let them steal from the country like that…

    • Zachariah@lemmy.world
      2·
      7 hours ago

      I’m assuming the plan is to buy bitcoin from themselves and their friends with taxpayer cash. They don’t care about the bitcoin after that. They’ll have the cash.

      • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
        2·
        5 hours ago

        That’s not a great assumption. He doesn’t need to take the margins on an increased value of Bitcoin, maybe making 20% on a quick investment… he could take the Bitcoin itself! Instead of making 20% on the money that he and his cronies put in, he could make 100% on the money the NATION puts in… It’s the difference between millions and many billions!

        This is a much bigger deal than a pump and dump scam! Bitcoin is cash, he could convert it into any currency in the world whenever he wants. It’s instant money laundering.