Bitcoin and the Hypocrisy of Donald Trump

Op-ed by Peter A. Kirby

Big Bitcoin news dropped today. In a series of tweets, President Donald Trump attacked Bitcoin, Facebook’s Libra, and cryptocurrencies in general. His tweets are reproduced here:

I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity….

….Similarly, Facebook Libra’s “virtual currency” will have little standing or dependability. If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks, both National…

…and International. We have only one real currency in the USA, and it is stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable. It is by far the most dominant currency anywhere in the World, and it will always stay that way. It is called the United States Dollar!

He’s got crypto all wrong.

Cryptocurrencies (and especially Bitcoin) ARE money. This is basic finance. Money is whatever people agree upon it being and people all over the world are constantly using Bitcoin to buy and sell things.

So what if cryptos are volatile? So are a lot of other financial products. People should know that before they buy them. In fact, many people buy them BECAUSE they are volatile. Don’t restrict our freedom of choice, Mr. President.

Bitcoin is not based on thin air. It is the product of electricity and computing power. A strong argument can be made for Bitcoin having more intrinsic value than the US Dollar.

If you are concerned about cryptocurrencies being unregulated, Mr. President, then why don’t you regulate them? Please let us know what the rules are. Please stop with your hypocrisy here.

Bitcoin is not the currency of choice for illicit drug sales and other unlawful activity. The US Dollar is. Bitcoin transactions are INHERENTLY traceable while national currencies such as the US dollar are not. If he wants to stop the sale of illicit drugs, then he should try going after the Central Intelligence Agency and the big banks, not Bitcoin.

If Facebook’s Libra has little standing or credibility, then why do you care about it? Let it fail. This is the free market, Mr. Trump. I thought you were a big supporter of free trade. If you think that Facebook’s Libra operates like a bank, then go ahead and regulate it as such. That’s fine. We’re waiting.

Bitcoin, on the other hand does not operate like a bank and should not be regulated as such. I’m afraid you’re stuck with it, Mr. President. You couldn’t stop it if you tried. If you do try by putting onerous regulations on cryptocurrencies, then other countries will simply issue much lighter regulations and those countries will be the ones to take the lead in the crypto space.

The US dollar is not stronger than ever, Mr. President. It was much stronger before it was taken off the gold standard by your friend Nixon. Further, the US Dollar was much, much better off before the private United States Federal Reserve Bank came into existence in 1913.

If Trump does not support crypto, then he must end his hypocrisy and provide us with a better US Dollar. The only way to effectively do that is to get rid of the current Federal Reserve Bank situation. He has spoken out against the Fed, but simply speaking out is not enough. He needs to DO SOMETHING and he has made no apparent and significant moves against the Fed thus far. There’s been lots of talk, but nothing of substance. Backing the US Dollar with precious metals would be a good idea, but we have seen no substantive moves in this direction.

Put up or shut up, Donald. We’re tired of the private Fed’s tyranny and we are repulsed by your hypocrisy.

Bitcoin is the free market solution to the Fed’s destruction of the US Dollar. It is no secret that some of the most, if not THE most powerful forces behind the rise of Bitcoin are in this game because they are fully aware of the Fed’s financial tyranny and want a better alternative.

When Trump bashes Bitcoin, he is speaking in favor of the private Federal Reserve Bank and their monopoly over the issuance of currency and credit. This is hypocrisy because, while he positions himself as a big critic of the Fed, he also speaks out against the free market alternative to their product.

Let me clarify

Being that this piece is an op-ed, let me opine further. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Donald Trump and I understand his position. I just disagree with him here.

When it comes to President Donald Trump, there’s a lot to like. On his rise to the presidency he took out the two most powerfully corrupt political dynasties in the Country: the Bushes and then the Clintons. He crushed ISIS like the limp-wristed Obama never did. He’s securing the border. He’s standing up to the deep state, China and all the other great tyrannies of the world. He’s making peace on the Korean peninsula. The economy is doing great. He got rid of the TPP. Big Tech is on their heels. I still have faith that the chemtrail issue is being addressed and that they will cease under a Donald Trump presidency. Especially for Libertarians and Conservatives, it suffices to say that this president’s positive achievements just go on and on, and he’s not even half-way done.

Further, I understand his position. He is defending our National currency. He is defending America. That’s his job and he is doing it. Bitcoin holds tremendous potential to wreck the US dollar and national currencies around the world, and it therefore has the potential to wreck the entire global financial system; which is based on national currencies. If Bitcoin wrecks the global financial system, in the short-term, it will only be good for those who hold Bitcoin and that is currently a very small fraction of American society. Although an argument could easily be made for people to simply get off their butts and buy Bitcoin, Trump is not here to do that.

Trump apparently likes to play hardball, so the tone of this piece should not be a problem. Please feel free to hit me up anytime for a round of golf, Mr. President.

Peter A. Kirby is a San Rafael, CA researcher, writer, and activist. Please buy his book Chemtrails Exposed: A New Manhattan Project available exclusively at Amazon.com. Also, please join his email list at his website peterakirby.com.

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