Influential economist Peter Schiff suggested on Monday that President Joe Biden sell all of the U.S.-owned Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC ) 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.
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Schiff also took a shot at Trump, claiming that the president-elect’s commitment not to sell any government-owned Bitcoin assets would stand in such a scenario.
“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.”
See Also: The #1 crypto trading app in America is hosting a ‘$50 in free bitcoin' offer to new sign ups (Seriously!) — Here's everything you need to know to take advantage of this offer.
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.
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This article Peter Schiff Advises Biden To Do One 'Good Thing' Before His Term Ends: 'Sell All The Bitcoin' Held By The US originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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