Pro-Bitcoin Presidential Ticket, BlackRock’s Fink on Bitcoin Turnaround, Mark Cuban Predicts Bitcoin as Global Currency, Will Trump Pressure Fed to Cut Rates if Elected?
News Block #46 (07/15/2024)
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Trump/Vance Pro-Bitcoin Presidential Ticket
In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, his chances of becoming America’s next president have skyrocketed. According to Polymarket - a popular prediction market – Trump now has a 63% chance of winning in November.
A lot of people are now feeling that a vote for Trump would be a vote for Bitcoin. Trump recently had this to say about his pro-Bitcoin stance,
“If I throw it aside, another country, most likely China, will pick it up—they’re pretty advanced in that sphere. It’s a baby, an infant right now. But I don’t want to be responsible for allowing another country to take over this sphere.” He added that he thinks Bitcoin will “help the U.S. be energy dominant.”
Trump seems to grasp both the game theory of Bitcoin—that if the U.S. doesn’t adopt it, our competitors will—and the benefits it can bring to our energy industry. In fact, there has been speculation on Twitter this week about whether Trump plans to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve if elected President. That would be HUGE!
This comes after Senator Cynthia Lummis recently floated this very idea on national television:👇
So, to recap, multiple big politicians and candidates are now talking about embracing Bitcoin as a way to remain competitive, enhance our energy industry, and bolster our balance sheet. I think the orange wave is coming!
This week, Trump also announced that his Vice President will be Ohio Senator J.D. Vance — who happens to be a Bitcoiner. According to Vance’s financial disclosures, he owns between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of Bitcoin. On top of that, Vance introduced a bill last year that tried to prevent regulators from cutting off banking services to crypto firms and users.
By choosing Vance as his VP, this pair will likely be remembered as the first pro-Bitcoin presidential ticket in history.
All eyes and ears will be on President Trump when he gives his keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference next week in Nashville. Depending on what he says, it could be a landmark moment for Bitcoin adoption in the United States.
If you are still thinking about grabbing a ticket to the conference, make sure to go here and use the code HODL for 10% off.
Just a heads up, I’ll be busy at the conference next week, so I won’t be releasing a News Block episode, but make sure to tune in in August when I’ll be making a big announcement about my newsletter and podcast series you won’t want to miss.
BlackRock’s Larry Fink is a Bitcoin Believer
A few more headlines on the Trump front…the former president also made news this week when he said that he’s considering tapping JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon as his U.S. Treasury Secretary. This will come as a shock to many of you but Trump said that Dimon has recently “changed his tune” when it comes to Bitcoin.
I find this pretty hard to believe, considering that Dimon has been very negative about Bitcoin in the past, calling it everything from a bubble to a Ponzi scheme and even saying under testimony that if he were the federal government, he would shut it down.
But I guess it is true that everyone is against Bitcoin before championing it. Why should Jamie Dimon be any different?
There have been several high profile people who recently came out and acknowledged that this mirrors their own path to Bitcoin.
One of those was BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. Listen to Larry Fink explain his Bitcoin journey on CNBC: 👇
Fink went on to say that Bitcoin can be used to hedge currency debasement and that he’s a big believer in it. In response to Fink’s comments, Billionaire Michael Dell simply tweeted, “Fascinating. Bitcoin.”
I can’t help but agree, Michael. Watching the most powerful individuals wake up to Bitcoin’s potential is exciting and very bullish!
Mark Cuban Predicts Bitcoin as Global Currency
Mark Cuban is another prominent figure who was once skeptical and now appears to be fully into Bitcoin.
Just 5 years ago, Cuban famously said that he would rather hold bananas than Bitcoin because “at least he can eat bananas.”
Nowadays, this Shark is singing a very different tune. In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Cuban explained why Trump becoming president is ultimately a “Bitcoin play.”
He argued that the “stars couldn’t be better aligned for Bitcoin” because Trump will make it easier for crypto companies to operate, his tax and tariff policies will likely be inflationary, and more global certainty will ultimately lead to more demand for a global safe-haven asset.
Cuban finished by saying that the price could go “way higher than people think” due to Bitcoin’s fixed supply and that if things really get crazy, Bitcoin could become exactly what Bitcoiners have envisioned all along—a global currency.
It’s amazing what can happen in 5 years! Welcome aboard the Bitcoin life raft, Mark!
All jokes aside, it’s important to remember that, in the end, these billionaires and politicians are just people trying to wrap their heads around this new monetary technology like everyone else, and it seems like many of them are finally starting to get it.
As the saying goes, I’ve never met someone who has really put in the work on Bitcoin and isn’t a believer.
Fed Chairman Powell Hints at Upcoming Rate Cuts
Switching gears to the fiat world, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell recently spoke at the Economic Club in DC and gave us an update on how our central planners are thinking about the economy today.
In the conversation, Powell hinted that the Fed won’t wait for inflation to return to its 2% target before it starts cutting rates, saying, “If you wait until inflation gets all the way down to 2%, you've probably waited too long."
Other Fed officials have echoed Powell’s statement and now the market is pricing in a near 100% chance of a Fed rate cut in September.
Of course, the Fed's move of interest rates up or down will not change the main driver of inflation today—government spending.
In fact, Powell made it clear in the interview that he’s very worried about the fiscal deficit, calling it unsustainable.
Having said that, if the Fed does cut rates, it will signal to the market that borrowing is about to get a little cheaper, which is bound to lead to more inflationary pressures, not less.
This doesn’t bode well for Americans who continue to struggle to save as inflation eats away at their paychecks. A recent study from Fidelity found that the median 401(k) balance for people in their 30s is only around $22,100.
When you couple this with the fact that it’s estimated that millennials need more than $1.6 million to retire, you start to see the problem.
If inflation continues to be fueled by loose fiscal and monetary policy, then the hope of these younger generations ever being able to retire will continue to fade.
And if they can’t save, they can’t invest. Unfortunately for them, asset prices will continue to increase by the very same policies, making their lives more expensive, making them unaffordable.
Last week, the stock market hit all-time highs before correcting, and Bitcoin also rallied strongly. Part of this is likely due to the market pricing in a second Trump presidency. Trump has already stated that he plans to slash the corporate tax rate once again, and he’s always believed that the less market regulation there is, the better.
Another reason could be the signal that rate cuts are coming soon. Now, Trump wasn’t too happy to hear about this, saying that it’s something they shouldn’t be doing. He probably feels this way because a rate cut could boost the economy, making Biden look good heading into the election.
But I think the bigger point to focus on here is how quickly Trump gave his opinion on Fed policy decisions. Remember - the Fed is supposed to be independent. If he does become President, we will have a leader who doesn’t shy away from pressuring the Fed into getting what he wants. It was almost five years to the day that Trump was calling Powell a bonehead on Twitter for not cutting rates.
If the Fed continues to keep rates high after Trump gets elected, what do you think Trump will do? I think he will put even more pressure on Powell to cut rates, just like he did the last time he was in office, to stimulate borrowing and boost asset prices.
In the end, this is just another reason why a Trump presidency would likely be a boon for the price of Bitcoin. But remember – the fix isn’t going to come from inside the system. The fix is the parallel system we’re getting everyone to opt into outside of fiat, and that is Bitcoin.
Until next week, keep stacking.
- N₿
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NEW: God Bless Bitcoin: Why Bitcoin is the Most Ethical Money in the World with Kelly & Brian Estes
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- God Bless Bitcoin, a new feature-length documentary on Bitcoin
- Why is Bitcoin the most ethical, moral form of money?
- What do sacred texts say about Bitcoin?
- What about people who don't have faith or believe
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Just listened to your interview with the lovely Estes’ about their highly anticipated film and thought I would share something I wrote to a friend the other day as it seems a fitting answer to your last question; “Did God create Bitcoin?”
If you were God and you watched as all of your children were enslaved and then brainwashed to believe they were free and at the core of the enslavement was a corrupt fiat system controlled centrally by evil deceitful people how would you help?
Perhaps by inspiring the creation of a new decentralized financial system that freed even the ignorant ones. A system which was a nonviolent revolution that slowly then suddenly took power from evil and gave it back to the people and with it control over energy and all the resources you supplied to help them make a beautiful and peaceful and prosperous earth.
Everything good in our world is inspired by God 🙏❤️
Godbless!