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.

  • Raltoid@lemmy.world
    11·
    5 hours ago

    That’s one way to take make money…

    1. Buy a bunch of personal bitcoin

    2. Announce that the government is buying a ton of bitcoin

    3. Wait for the value to surge

    4. Sell your bitcoin at the new inflated value

    • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
      5·
      2 hours ago

      You forgot the part where they take all the government purchased Bitcoin and cash that out to personal accounts.

      They could literally steal billions of dollars this way… It’s terrifying.

  • Etterra@discuss.onlineEnglish
    6·
    5 hours ago

    I’m sure there’s no way this could backfire.

    Oh and you know it’s really all Elon’s idea.

  • collapse_already@lemmy.mlEnglish
    9·
    7 hours ago

    If they’re leaking this now, they have already purchased their personal “investments” to dump in exchange for tax (tariff) dollars.

  • AngrySquirrel@lemm.ee
    101·
    8 hours ago

    If this regime has the government buy crypto; the government will lose access to it. These people will either “lose the encryption codes”, actually loose the encryption codes, steel it, let it be stolen, ect…

  • hakase@lemm.eeEnglish
    71·
    9 hours ago

    Honestly, using the country’s surplus to fund a sovereign wealth fund like Norway instead of throwing it into the black hole of the military industrial complex seems like it would be a pretty good idea.

    Too bad they’re stealing taxpayer dollars through tariffs to throw into the additional black hole of crypto market manipulation instead.

  • wirebeads@lemmy.caEnglish
    6·
    9 hours ago

    Everything Trump touches turns to shit. Just ask how his casinos, steaks, planes, hotels, university, and rape victims are doing.

  • SendMePhotos@lemmy.world
    202·
    14 hours ago

    Right… So what happens is you dump money into it, the government then dumps money into it, you cash out, then the government is out money and you grain money… Assuming you have capital to fuck around with prior.

  • HubertManne@piefed.socialEnglish
    13·
    13 hours ago

    Shouldn’t they be paying down that debt they are increasing. Esepcially since they are driving foreign companies to not buy it.

    • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 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
        1·
        1 hour 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.

  • turnip@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    319·
    13 hours ago

    I still like it better than another bailout for banks, who over levered for short term profits to attain their bonuses.