Influential economist Peter Schiff suggested on Monday that President Joe Biden sell all of the U.S.-owned Bitcoin BTC/USD before leaving office to help reduce the country’s ballooning budget deficit.
What happened: Schiff advised Biden via an X post, deeming it the “one good thing” the outgoing president can do before clearing the way for a Donald Trump tenure.
“Not only would the money raised reduce the 2024 budget deficit, but it would put an end to all the nonsense about creating a harmful “strategic” Bitcoin Reserve,” Schiff argued.
“Biden can do him a favor by selling it all before Trump takes office. That way, Trump won’t have to break that campaign promise.”
Why It Matters: Schiff’s remarks were in reference to the national Bitcoin stockpile promised by Trump at a Bitcoin conference earlier this year and furthered by proposed legislation by fellow Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.). Trump had advocated selling any Bitcoin holdings.
The U.S. government holds more than 198,000 Bitcoin as of this writing, worth nearly $19.48 billion, per on-chain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.
Proponents of the reserve have argued that Bitcoin’s value growth could help pay down the national debt, which now exceeds $35 trillion.
However, Schiff, a fierce critic of everything Bitcoin, warned that such an idea could lead to an economic catastrophe. He suggested that the government would have to continuously increase its Bitcoin holdings, potentially triggering a market crash as investors cash out.
He added that the exercise would end up severely devaluing the dollar, leading to hyperinflation.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $97,665.14, down 1.84% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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