Making Bitcoin a Strategic Reserve Asset Contradicts ‘Freedom From Government’ Narrative, Says WSJ

The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote that former president Donald Trump’s plan to make Bitcoin a strategic reserve asset is at odds with crypto values.

Trump said at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville last week that Bitcoin represents many things, including independence from government and freedom, but that view does not align with how he would use Bitcoin if elected in November, according to the WSJ.

The former president and Republican Party candidate in this year’s presidential election sparked controversy in the cryptocurrency industry earlier this month after it was said he would announce these plans at the Bitcoin Conference to be held in Nashville this past weekend.

He did so in part, but he also told attendees that Bitcoin meant “freedom, sovereignty, and independence from government tyranny and control.”

But his views and plans do not align, the WSJ reported.

“Freedom from government is not what he proposes,” he wrote in the column. “He wants all future bitcoins to be produced in America, which would put a limit on freedom and would require a much larger electric grid, since bitcoin mining is energy intensive.”

The editorial board also criticized plans to make the cryptocurrency a “strategic reserve asset,” which they claimed was based on a proposal by Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.).

Under the planned bill Lummis announced at the conference, Bitcoin could help protect against rising inflation, support U.S. growth in the global financial system, and also secure the U.S. dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency.

“The government says it can reduce the national debt by investing in bitcoin,” the WSJ argued.[…] “If cryptocurrencies are truly a libertarian investment vehicle, free from political uncertainty, then they should operate on their own, without government assistance.”

Lummis’ “dubious plan” to make the bill a reality if Trump takes office in January reflects many of the contradictions of the billionaire’s MAGA platform, while also contradicting much of what cryptocurrencies stand for.