Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital and author of the upcoming The Little Book of bitcoin, has expressed his belief that a sizeable government purchase of bitcoin (potentially up to 500,000 btc) will advance in the US Senate. Talking about the bankless podcast With host Ryan Sean Adams, Scaramucci suggested that top policymakers are lining up to introduce a strategic bitcoin reserve, despite the apparent risk to the perceived support of the US dollar.
Will Trump buy bitcoin?
Scaramucci, who maintains close ties to several lawmakers, addressed current Senate sentiment regarding a potential government takeover of bitcoin and cited broad support for Senator Cynthia Lummis' bill. “They have the votes. Hagerty wants it. “McCormack wants it,” he said. In reference to whether he thinks the Senate would approve a plan to expand the government's bitcoin holdings, he said: “I think so, yes.”
Although Senator Lummis' initial proposal included the purchase of up to one million btc, Scaramucci maintained that the final agreement could be different. “These things are traded, so they probably won't sell 200,000 btc; they'll probably buy another 400,000 or 500,000 bitcoin in the next (…),” he commented, omitting a precise timeline.
He explained that Donald Trump will be a major force behind such a plan: “Trump wants this to happen and he has the Senate Banking Committee. Tim Scott wants this to happen; “He will be the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.”
One of the biggest takeaways from Scaramucci's comments is the potential for bipartisan support, even if notable opponents like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have criticized the pro-btc measures and crypto in the past. .
Referencing previous legislation, Scaramucci noted that “many Democrats voted for SAB 121,” adding, “If you look at the spread of the vote, it was a bipartisan passage of that bill. And by the way, Ryan, if you were under 60 and a Democrat, you voted for the bill. “If you were a fossil like Elizabeth Warren or Sherrod Brown, you would vote against.”
He went on to name Ro Khanna (D-CA) as a Democrat he believes would likely support a strategic bitcoin reserve. According to Scaramucci, younger lawmakers are increasingly viewing bitcoin through the lens of “digital gold,” making them more open to incorporating it into federal holdings.
A central theme in Scaramucci's argument for a strategic reserve of bitcoin is the comparison with gold. The United States currently has around $600 billion worth of gold in its reserves. In his view, dedicating a fraction of that amount to btc (even to the point of selling some gold reserves) could strengthen the US economy in an era of digital transformation.
“If bitcoin is digital gold and we have $600 billion of gold in reserve at our Federal Reserve Bank, are you telling me we couldn't put $750 to $1 billion of bitcoin in reserve? Is that what you're saying? he asked, emphasizing the plausibility of this approach.
Scaramucci's stance extends beyond simply owning btc; He also believes that if China or other major economies move quickly into bitcoin reserves, the United States could risk losing a strategic advantage. He stressed that the possible sum for a purchase of 400,000 or 500,000 btc could be around 70,000-80,000 million dollars, which represents only between 1 and 1.5% of a federal budget of 6 trillion dollars, or approximately 30 points. assigned basics in five years.
“If you put me in that seat and said, 'Is it in the national interest of the United States to have a strategic reserve in bitcoin?' I would say yes,” Scaramucci said. “And then if you told me why, I would tell you three reasons. Number one, I think it's digital gold. Number two, the younger generation will live much further away than I do in the digital world. Number three, we believe, rightly or wrongly, that the Chinese are going to buy bitcoin.”
Critics of a US bitcoin Strategic Reserve often argue that building a substantial reserve could undermine global confidence in the US dollar, raising questions about what the dollar is backed by. However, Scaramucci sees it differently and suggests that the United States could strengthen the dollar's position by remaining technologically competitive:
“Maybe because I've been in space longer, I think we've made more progress,” he reflected. “We are in a modern society. And Trump wants to make a statement. If we believe that the Chinese are going to act to make bitcoin a strategic reserve asset, what are we talking about? “You are talking about a small percentage of the budget to buy bitcoin for five years, which could emotionally strengthen the dollar and put the United States in a better competitive position.”
At the time of publication, btc was trading at $93,702.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
