I can’t think of any. The current oil reserve is supposed to be used in the case of another oil embargo. But its actual use is to lower gas prices when the administration in power needs a political win.

I actually think the purpose of a Bitcoin reserve is to temporarily increase the price so tech-bros (re: Elon) can sell at a massive profit. Then buy back at a much lower price. It’s just a way to indirectly transfer federal dollars into administration pockets.

I can’t find any reason for the government to buy crypto and hold it in reserve.

  • @BradleyUffner
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    1810 hours ago

    Yes, it’s going to make some people very rich.

    Ohh, you mean to the country as a whole? No.

  • jrs100000
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    811 hours ago

    The only real benefit I can see would be to have the ability to suddenly crash the market on demand. This might be an interesting way to temporarily disrupt states trying to evade sanctions with crypto, but probably not a great investment on the $ to impact scale.

  • @[email protected]
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    3117 hours ago

    “I actually think the purpose of a Bitcoin reserve is to temporarily increase the price so tech-bros (re: Elon) can sell at a massive profit. Then buy back at a much lower price. It’s just a way to indirectly transfer federal dollars into administration pockets.”

    This is the way. It’s the only reason they’d do it.

    I seriously doubt BRICS has anything to do with Bitcoin, but the US is absolutely concerned about losing the status of world currency. It’s literally how we survive while running a massive deficit. When the rest of the world finds a way to do business without the US getting its cut we’re going to be in deep shit.

    • @[email protected]
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      915 hours ago

      That’s exactly what the plan is. They’re funneling themselves government money, but in a way that’s less traceable

    • @RizzRustbolt
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      49 hours ago

      Polite answer: No.

      Impolite answer: Fuck no!

  • davel [he/him]
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    714 hours ago

    Just the rumor of it alone benefits HODLers, and Trump has HODLers who donated to his election campaign.

  • @[email protected]
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    1718 hours ago

    No, Please tell me it’s not in Elon playbook ?

    US money is incredibly strong, so US$ is way more interesting.

    15 years after it’s creation the bitcoin failed to meet the expectation of being a usable money or even “way to pay”

    • @ArbiterXero
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      1418 hours ago

      It can’t process 1/100th of what visa does in a day, let alone the other card processors on top of it

  • @sunbrrnslapper
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    1118 hours ago

    I don’t think there is a good reason for anyone to buy Bitcoin, let alone the US government.

  • HobbitFoot
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    1118 hours ago

    It is the same reason why the USA still holds gold and silver even through they aren’t pegged to the dollar, it is an asset class which could be useful in the future.

    • @Blue_Morpho
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      618 hours ago

      You can make that argument in 5000 years. As of today, it’s still equivalent to MtG cards.

      • HobbitFoot
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        617 hours ago

        A lot of countries keep a reserve of Euros, which is a fiat currency not tied to a single country and only came into being about 25 years ago.

        Currency is like Tinkerbell, it only lives through belief in it. Right now, enough people believe in Bitcoin being a currency and that belief doesn’t seem to be going away as long as the Internet still exists.

  • @[email protected]
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    918 hours ago

    Considering that the US Mint can literally print money, I can’t think of any reason either. I guess it won’t affect inflation as much, but still mass selling it will increase the money supply available to the government.

  • @Alwaysnownevernotme
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    213 hours ago

    I would much rather we had a BTC reserve than we CONTINUED MAKING ACTUAL COINS.

    When I visited the Denver mint around 25 years ago our tour guide mentioned we lost about half a cent on every penny we make.

    • Dem BosainOP
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      113 hours ago

      I was in Australia recently. I don’t think I got any change smaller than 20¢. I did find a 5¢ coin on the sidewalk. The smallest “paper” money is $5, and it’s plastic.

      • @trolololol
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        26 hours ago

        And everywhere here you can pay a $1 bill with credit card so I don’t carry money anymore

  • @[email protected]
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    -49 hours ago

    temporarily increase the price so tech-bros (re: Elon) can sell at a massive profit.

    Actually it is similar to gold reserves (bitcoin is better) without advantaging competitor nations that have gone in on gold reserves already. There is an energy/mining motivation aspect as well as a populist widespread participation.

    In terms of “real purpose”, US debt can grow much more unsustainably, and there is something to fall back on when a default occurs. The tech bros that helped Trump do want to use other crypto projects for fintech and other innovation, rather than pump it and dump it.

    • @[email protected]
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      35 hours ago

      Bitcoin isn’t gold or oil.

      Gold is a thing. It has some utility. You can make other things with it. You can reprocess it into different things.

      Oil is a thing. It can be burned as fuel, or made into other things.

      Bitcoin is a ledger protocol with limited entries. It is good for peer-to-peer transfer of cash, and speculation. The speculation aspect is a pyramid scheme though, as it’s only backed by the hope that people keep paying more for the ledger spaces, which undermines its function as a medium of exchange, and is unlikely to last as alternative ledgers are abundant, including those that are better suited for private exchange like Monero or ZCash.

      Lacking intrinsic value, the only reason to create a strategic reserve of Bitcoin is like that of any other foreign currency. So, market manipulation? A lack of stability in your own currency (but Bitcoin is mostly USD backed)? International exchange (but USD and Euros are better)?

      There will never be a default on US debt unless it’s by choice. US debt is in US dollars, which the US makes. There will be inflation. Goods may end up being exchanged in another national or international currency someday. It won’t be Bitcoin.