Crypto Industry Commentators Believe That Even for Altcoins, the U.S. Should Leverage Its Gold Holdings to Acquire Bitcoin
This view emerged from the Director of the Presidential Working Group on Crypto Assets, Bo Hines, who suggested that re-evaluating the government’s gold holdings to obtain Bitcoin is a budget-neutral option the government is exploring in its pursuit of BTC reserves.
Hines shared this perspective during an interview on a U.S. podcast hosted by Eleanor Terrett. In the conversation, Hines referenced the Bitcoin Act proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis, which aims to enable the U.S. to accumulate 1 million BTC tokens. The acquisition would be funded through a re-evaluation of the gold certificates held by the Federal Reserve.
Hines pointed out that the value of the U.S. gold certificates has significantly increased in the past few years since their last classification. He mentioned that if the government recognized the accumulated gains, it would allow them to acquire more Bitcoin without impacting taxpayer funds.
This confirmation from senior White House officials has generated excitement within the crypto community.
Bitcoin’s Gold “Will Be Huge”
“Selling gold to buy Bitcoin would be huge,” said Dom Kwok, a former investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs, although he noted that the re-evaluation may not necessarily translate into the sale of gold. According to Kwok, such a move would also pave the way for the U.S. government to acquire other crypto assets.
However, it is worth noting that a Trump executive order mandates the establishment of Bitcoin and Altcoin holdings, specifying that further acquisitions of Altcoins will not take place. Only Bitcoin will see further acquisitions, even if this is done in a budget-neutral manner.
Despite this, there are doubts among those who advocate for the U.S. to use gold to buy Bitcoin. One community member, Stratloneoldier, expressed that they would prefer the U.S. to spend money on buying Bitcoin rather than using its gold reserves to acquire BTC.
China and Russia Buying U.S. Gold to Support Stablecoins
Max Keizer, the Bitcoin advisor to the President of El Salvador, also commented on this development. According to Keizer, Russia and China would purchase any gold sold by the U.S. to support new gold-backed stablecoins.
At the same time, he pointed out that both countries would also add BTC to their strategic reserves. Keizer believes that a potential repurchase of gold by the U.S. would reduce the world’s dependence on the U.S. dollar’s hegemony.
“The plan is a gold-backed stablecoin with the world’s largest Bitcoin strategic reserve,” Keizer said.
Russia and China would buy any gold the U.S. sells to support the new gold-backed stablecoin. They would also add BTC to their strategic reserves.
