Economist and crypto critic Peter Schiff has triggered a debate on the U.S. government’s Bitcoin strategy by urging President Joe Biden to sell all federally held BTC.
Schiff noted that liquidating these reserves could reduce the 2024 budget deficit and dismiss notions of establishing a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve."
“The one good thing Biden can do before leaving office is sell all the Bitcoin currently held by the US Govt,” Schiff wrote on Twitter Monday."Not only would the money raised reduce the 2024 budget deficit," he said, "but it would put an end to all the nonsense about creating a harmful ‘Strategic’ Bitcoin Reserve.”
One Twitter user responded to Schiff’s remarks: “Trump already let the cat out of the bag; now our competitors are working out plans for their own strategic Bitcoin reserves. Gold’s market cap doesn’t stand a chance against Bitcoin.”
Schiff countered by emphasizing that Donald Trump had only committed to retaining existing BTC reserves, not acquiring more. He suggested Biden’s immediate sale could prevent Trump from enacting such plans when he returns to office.
President-elect Donald Trump has previously proposed establishing a national BTC "stockpile.”
‘Never Sell Your Bitcoin’: Trump Vows to Establish 'Strategic BTC Stockpile'
Former U.S. President Donald Trump promised to build a “strategic Bitcoin stockpile” for the United States at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville on Saturday. The Republican presidential candidate's keynote address followed a week of growing rumors and reports on the matter with a relatively vague announcement to the packed room of Bitcoiners. "As the final part of my plan today, I am announcing that if I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, the United States of America,...
Meanwhile, global trends show countries like Russia, Brazil, and Poland exploring their own BTC reserves, pointing to increasing recognition of crypto as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical risk.
Schiff continues to champion gold, dismissing BTC's role in national finance. He has previously criticized BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stating they undermine the decentralized nature of crypto.
Bitcoin Skeptic Peter Schiff Accidentally Makes a Pro-Bitcoin Argument
Diehard gold bug and perennial crypto skeptic Peter Schiff may have accidentally just admitted that Bitcoin has not one, but several real-world use cases. In a Tuesday tweet, the financial commentator argued that investing in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) defeats every reason for buying Bitcoin—of which there are several. “It's no longer decentralized, it's not peer-to-peer, it's easily seized by authorities, can't be used as a currency for payments, or transferred across borders,” Schiff...
Despite his ongoing critiques of the so-called "digital gold," Schiff’s actions suggest a more complex relationship with the world’s largest crypto.
Just last month, amid BTC reaching all-time highs, Schiff tried selling his own Bitcoin Ordinals collection. This sale, seen by many as opportunistic, points to his tendency to profit from the very asset he publicly condemns.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
