Cryptocurrency (or “crypto”) is a digital currency, such as Bitcoin, that is used as an alternative payment method or speculative investment. Cryptocurrencies get their name from the cryptographic techniques that let people spend them securely without the need for a central government or bank.
The Mango Mandarin has this great idea about crypto, but the execution is severely lacking. He has announced that he will oversee the creation of a “crypto strategic reserve” which drew some unexpected backlash. An immediate surge in crypto trading on Sunday came back to earth on Monday. I have a problem with this. The *government* should not be doing something like this due to the volatility of the market. We don’t need our money to lose value when crypto crashes. Hell, we don’t need our money even to be *tied* to crypto. I’m wary of this stuff and I don’t have the money to invest and the time to worry every day that its value is going to drop.
He has vowed to make sure the US is the crypto capital of the world. Uhhhhmm. No. No, no, and no! Inflation is going up, tariffs are in place (stupid, stupid, stupid) and grocery prices are now going to go up *more* than they were already doing! If he wants it that damn bad he can put his OWN money into it and not play with our country’s actual money. Maybe I’m old-fashioned but crypto needs to become a lot more secure before I would ever start considering it. And it’s expen-SIVE.
There’s another problem or three with this. Is it legal for the government to do this? How will a fund allocate across the FIVE currencies he’s choosing to put in, and, again, how will this be funded? Those are some pretty interesting legal issues to figure out before he even tries to create this reserve. There is pushback against including 5 different currencies. He should have stuck with Bitcoin, which is the most well-known, the most tested, and used, and I would think it would tend to be very stable. Bitcoin is considered to be “digital gold”. That’s a pretty impressive statement.
Joe Lonsdale, the billionaire cofounder of artificial intelligence-focused defense contractor Palantir, who’s an unabashed supporter of Trump, was even harsher, replying to Trump’s post that it’s “wrong to tax me for crypto bro schemes” and it’s “not the proper, principled role of government” (Sound familiar?) to finance a crypto reserve. Notably, there was also significant pushback from those associated with Trump’s “crypto czar” David Sacks. Jason Calacanis, Sacks’ co-host on the “All-In” Silicon Valley podcast, dubbed the move the “Trump Pump” and evidence of “insane grift.” And there’s more. Much more. I can’t cover all of it without writing a small novel.
Here is a BIG thing for me. Do you have any idea of how much power Bitcoin mining takes? More than is used in one of the small countries! It causes blackouts. It overloads the system. It’s an environmental nightmare! The use of land, electricity, and cooling water necessary for giant “farms” has already destroyed many rural areas and small towns. Oh, and the noise pollution also damages large areas!
So, if even the big guys are asking questions about this idea, and the environmental impact, it should be time to re-think this whole damn thing. Would you like to place bets on thinking for Agent Orange? He generally doesn’t know how to do so. Do we have anyone that might be able to keep him under control with this, possibly his crypto czar? I don’t know how much Susie would be able to help. How much could *anyone* help? This is insanity. Sheer insanity.
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I make no claim to financial expertise, but I can guarantee you one thing — If Trump wants it, it’s going to be a scam which he intends for his benefit. So I’m definitely not in favor.
I think it’s going to be one helluva scam and drag our country further into darkness. I’m rapidly losing hope. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop talking about it, though.
Wow, Susan, good job explaining some basic parts of crypto people ought to be wary of. Little guys like us were the big losers when the crypto bros literally took the money and ran! The fact that some, like Sam Bankman-Fried, were sentenced to years in prison and billions in restitution is little comfort to the small investors who were devastated. Sometimes that punishment is just a training seminar for other crypto bros to do the crime better the next time! 🤬
Wow, thank you!
his announcement was probably a pump and dump scheme so his cronies could profit on the swings.
there cannot be a strategic reserve of an inherently nonexistent resource.