Trump’s moves to support the crypto industry, which spent millions backing him and other Republicans in the November elections, have drawn concern from some conservatives and crypto backers over giveaways to an already wealthy community and delegitimizing the digital currency industry.
Proponents argue that a reserve would help taxpayers benefit from crypto’s price growth.
Bitcoin briefly tumbled more than 5 per cent to below US$85,000 following Sacks’ post, and last changed hands at US$88,107.
“This is the most underwhelming and disappointing outcome we could have expected for this week,” Charles Edwards, founder of Bitcoin-focused hedge fund Capriole Investments, wrote in a post on X.
“No active buying means this is just a fancy title for Bitcoin holdings that already existed with the Govt. This is a pig in lipstick.”
Trump’s executive order directed the secretaries of Treasury and Commerce to develop “budget-neutral strategies” for acquiring additional bitcoin that have no “incremental costs” on taxpayers.
Sacks estimated the US government owns about 200,000 bitcoins and the premature sale of the cryptocurrency has cost the American taxpayer US$17 billion. It was not clear how Sacks arrived at these estimates.
The president’s support for the crypto industry has also sparked conflict-of-interest concerns. Trump’s family has launched cryptocurrency meme coins, and the president also holds a stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform.
His aides have said Trump has handed over control of his business ventures, which are being reviewed by outside ethics lawyers.
Source: CNA
