Bitcoin Critic Peter Schiff Urges US to Sell Seized BTC

The proceeds would reduce the budget deficit and "put an end to all the nonsense about creating a harmful 'Strategic' Bitcoin Reserve," he said.

2 min read

Dec 10, 2024

Economist and crypto critic Peter Schiff has triggered a debate on the U.S. government’s Bitcoin strategy by urging President Joe Biden to sell all federally held BTC.

Schiff noted that liquidating these reserves could reduce the 2024 budget deficit and dismiss notions of establishing a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve."

“The one good thing Biden can do before leaving office is sell all the Bitcoin currently held by the US Govt,” Schiff wrote on Twitter Monday."Not only would the money raised reduce the 2024 budget deficit," he said, "but it would put an end to all the nonsense about creating a harmful ‘Strategic’ Bitcoin Reserve.”

One Twitter user responded to Schiff’s remarks: “Trump already let the cat out of the bag; now our competitors are working out plans for their own strategic Bitcoin reserves. Gold’s market cap doesn’t stand a chance against Bitcoin.”

Schiff countered by emphasizing that Donald Trump had only committed to retaining existing BTC reserves, not acquiring more. He suggested Biden’s immediate sale could prevent Trump from enacting such plans when he returns to office.

President-elect Donald Trump has previously proposed establishing a national BTC "stockpile.”

Meanwhile, global trends show countries like Russia, Brazil, and Poland exploring their own BTC reserves, pointing to increasing recognition of crypto as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical risk.

Schiff continues to champion gold, dismissing BTC's role in national finance. He has previously criticized BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stating they undermine the decentralized nature of crypto.

Despite his ongoing critiques of the so-called "digital gold," Schiff’s actions suggest a more complex relationship with the world’s largest crypto.

Just last month, amid BTC reaching all-time highs, Schiff tried selling his own Bitcoin Ordinals collection. This sale, seen by many as opportunistic, points to his tendency to profit from the very asset he publicly condemns.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.

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