Is it time to rename the country the United Cryptocurrencies of America? Should the US government liquidate Fort Knox and replace gold with bitcoin? Will Washington bet the house on digital tokens? President-elect Donald Trump and his family have gone all in on bitcoin and its sister cryptocurrencies, which could improve the nation’s fiscal position or leave Uncle Sam with egg on his face.
Eric Trump on Cryptocurrencies
The president-elect’s son, Eric, delivered the keynote address at the Bitcoin MENA Conference in the United Arab Emirates on Dec. 10. In the presentation, the younger Trump touted his father's pledge to ensure the United States is at the forefront of the digital revolution and transform the “antiquated” traditional banking system.
"He's going to be the crypto president. You’re going to have the most pro-crypto president in the history of America," Trump said, adding that crypto is the future of finance. “Think about a president who isn’t going to allow bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to be overregulated and stifled."
It may be an odd thing for Eric to proclaim, considering that bitcoin began in 2009, spanning just three presidents: Barack Obama, Trump, and Joe Biden. But that is neither here nor there. What the audience wanted to hear was something else.
According to Eric Trump, bitcoin, which recently surpassed the vital $100,000 threshold, will reach the seven-figure mark. "A hell of a lot more eyes are going to be open when Bitcoin hits $1 million, and I’m confident it’s going to hit $1 million."
On the 2024 election campaign trail, the Republican president-elect championed crypto and made a series of pledges that neither President Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris emulated. Trump proposed starting a national bitcoin reserve, creating a crypto presidential advisory council, eliminating capital gains taxes on crypto, and terminating Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chief Gary Gensler (he plans to resign on Inauguration Day).
Trump has vowed to turn America into the “crypto capital of the world.” His son reiterated this promise in an interview with CNBC, noting that this does not mean a second Trump will turn crypto into the Wild West. “A lot of people think that the crypto industry doesn’t want regulation,” he said. “That’s actually not true. They just want sensible regulation, regulation that they can follow, regulation that’s crystal clear, that’s black and white.”
Whether the government of the world’s largest economy will continue to bolster bitcoin and the thousands of other stablecoins, altcoins, and meme coins remains to be seen. Industry experts believe that the president-elect's 100% endorsement will ensure that bitcoin can keep hitting fresh highs moving forward because of the incoming administration's deregulatory initiative.
It is no coincidence that bitcoin broke the $100,000 barrier the day Trump nominated crypto advocate Paul Atkins to head the SEC.
Shoeshine Boy
After bitcoin topped $100,000 for the first time, retail traders and institutional investors asked: What’s next? Can bitcoin rally to $250,000, $650,000, and even $1 million? Some of the brightest minds in the business, be it Fundstrat’s Tom Lee or MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, accurately called $100,000. The chorus of bulls thinks bitcoin venturing higher is not too far-fetched. It is challenging to find anyone who believes bitcoin will start trending downward.
At the same time, it may be appropriate to consider the adage of the shoeshine boy, which advises it might be time to exit the market if the shoeshine boy starts providing the public with stock advice. When teens and internet celebrities make tens of thousands or millions of dollars in a few seconds by selling virtual coins on a live stream or X Spaces, perhaps this century-old advice is correct.
As the Warren Buffett saying goes: “Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful.”
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