Molly White

Newsletter: Crypto reserves: no public good, no principles

The formerly anti-government bitcoin movement abandons its principles in favor of number-go-up, applauds federal plan to stockpile seized crypto with no clear benefit to national interest

https://www.citationneeded.news/crypto-reserves-no-public-good-no-principles/

The policy represents a striking departure from bitcoiners’ historical skepticism of government market intervention, and simultaneously fails to articulate how it serves any genuine national interest.

Donald Trump has been very direct that the purpose of the reserve is to bolster the cryptocurrency industry. 

Some bitcoiners have pointed out the conflict with bitcoin’s supposed ideology, though many don’t seem to really care. There’s been little pushback to the fact that the reserve will be capitalized with assets taken via civil asset forfeiture, a notoriously extrajudicial process. 

And there are bitcoiners — some in Congress — who don’t think that the government has gone far enough. They’re pushing for tens of billions of dollars in government money to be spent on acquiring bitcoin (and boosting their own portfolios). 

Most telling is the reaction beyond the crypto bubble: a mix of bewilderment and outrage at what appears to be a government policy crafted solely to benefit a small group of wealthy speculators and crypto companies.

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