Trump Floats Bitcoin Payments As Solution To $35 Trillion US Debt Crisis

In a recent interview with Fox News, former President Donald Trump voiced support for using Bitcoin as a tool to help pay down the United States’ $35 trillion national debt as he positions himself for a potential 2024 presidential re-election, while also signaling a notable shift in the Republican party’s stance on digital assets.

“Crypto is a very interesting thing, very high level in certain ways, intellectually very high level,” Trump said. The former president acknowledged the rapid growth and adoption of cryptocurrencies globally, warning that if the US does not embrace the technology, countries like China will move ahead and seize the initiative.

Trump’s recent comments echo proposals from Republican figures such as Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis and former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who have floated the idea of the US government investing in Bitcoin holdings to help pay down the national debt. 

While Trump didn’t offer any new specifics, he did hint at the possibility of the government simply “handing out a little crypto check” or “handing them a little Bitcoin” as a way to pay down the $35 trillion debt.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, briefly dipped below the $63,000 level, reaching a weekly low of $62,440 as news of the Genesis distributions hit the market. According to the announcement made by Genesis on August 2, the firm has commenced making distributions to creditors pursuant to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. 

As part of the initial distribution, BTC creditors will receive 51.28% of their holdings in-kind, while ETH creditors will receive 65.87% of their ETH holdings. On the other hand, creditors of other altcoins, excluding Solana (SOL), will receive an average of 87.65% of their holdings, while Solana creditors will receive 29.58% of their holdings.

The distributions have already begun, with wallets linked to Genesis Trading moving 16.6K BTC ($1.1 billion) and 166.3K ETH ($521.1 million) in the past hour, according to market intelligence platform Arkham.

Interestingly, billionaire investor and crypto supporter Mark Cuban has reportedly received $19.9 million in ETH from the Genesis Bankruptcy, further highlighting the implications of the firm’s downfall.

The firm also disclosed that creditors have established a $70 million litigation fund to pursue claims against various third parties, including Digital Currency Group (DCG), Genesis’ parent company. 

At the time of writing, the largest cryptocurrency on the market has managed to regain the $63,100 level after falling towards the $62,000 zone on Friday. BTC is currently down 0.8% in the 24-hour time frame.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com