Financialization & Speculation vs. Freedom & Sovereignty: The Battle for the Future of Bitcoin

Donald Trump venit, vidit, Bitcoin perdidit.

For those who have a little trouble with their Latin, here's what it looks like in English: Donald Trump came, he saw, and Bitcoin lost.

That's pretty much the image I'll have of Donald Trump's performance at the Bitcoin Conference. My Latin being basic, I couldn't add certain words that would have even better expressed the thoughts of all those who have been supporting the Bitcoin revolution for many years.

I could have written: Donald Trump came, he saw, he took the money, he told what the crowd wanted to hear, and Bitcoin lost.

In the end, Donald Trump's speech was nothing more than a reflection of who he's always been and why he'll be elected for a second term in November 2024: Donald Trump is the king of demagogues.

Donald Trump says what people want to hear. The most incredible thing is that after talking about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency because he confuses the two as his speech demonstrates, he would be able to go to a campaign rally on the same day to criticize Bitcoin ... He's already done this on numerous occasions on numerous subjects. It's so big and visible that it works! He's greatly helped by the weakness of the Democratic candidates he's facing.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. better understands Bitcoin, even if his idea of America owning 55% of the existing BTC supply is a fundamental mistake. After the first few roundtables he attended, RFK Jr. must have decided that the numbers were too high, and has somewhat lowered the amount of BTC he wants America to hold by the end of what would be his first term as President of the United States.

RFK Jr. is now talking about signing an executive order for America to buy 550 BTC a day until it reaches a holding of 4 million BTC. That's half the 9.4 million BTC he was aiming to see America buy just a few hours earlier. But that's already too much!

Some compare this with El Salvador's 5,692 BTC, and point to the application of game theory, with nation-states competing to own as many BTC as possible.

The difference is notable: we're talking here about a country with an infinite money printer. How is America going to buy 550 BTC a day when its debt is already approaching $35T?

America will continue to rack up even more debt to buy those 4 million BTC. So RFK Jr. proposes to create ever more fiat money out of thin air to buy Bitcoin. A total deviation from the spirit of Bitcoin. Some pseudo-Bitcoiners were excited by this idea, saying that after twenty years or so, America would then be able to pay off its debt in US Dollars once the price of Bitcoin reached the Moon.

I thought the purpose of the Bitcoin revolution was to offer people a superior monetary system to replace the dollar system, not to sell your Bitcoin for weak money as America might then do twenty years later following the plan put forward by these pseudo-Bitcoiners.

Something is not working!

These pseudo-Bitcoiners haven't been interested in the future of Bitcoin for a very long time! The only thing they're interested in is the value of Bitcoin in weak money before they can make the most money out of it. This was demonstrated throughout the Bitcoin Conference by the sessions on offer.

Sessions devoted to ETFs, institutional funds, corporate treasuries, and politicians canvassing for support and money. In short, we were clearly out of our depth for an event that claims to be called the Bitcoin Conference.

What makes Bitcoin great is not all this financial stuff. What makes Bitcoin great is the freedom and sovereignty its system offers everyone.

Some people forget these core values, sacrificing them on the altar of profit and greed.

The Bitcoin Conference gave pride of place to those with a secret plan to take control, such as BlackRock, to the other financial giants who will accompany BlackRock in this plan, to Michael J. Saylor who revealed his true face, and to the politicians who could rob us of the Bitcoin revolution.

These players are in the process of hijacking the Bitcoin revolution by gradually integrating it into the current system as a simple store of value. No more, no less.

You didn't see anyone at the Bitcoin Conference defending the idea that Bitcoin is a superior monetary system that aims to replace the flawed and not fixable dollar system. Anything but a coincidence!

Let's remember what Bitcoin is: Bitcoin is a decentralized monetary system based on a scarce asset that enables people all over the world to help themselves and each other, independently of any control by governments and central bankers.

Bitcoiners who defend these core values of the Bitcoin revolution are losing the battle of ideas, much to my regret.

To conclude RFK Jr.'s speech, he made a far more interesting and important proposal:

“I will sign an executive order directing the IRS to issue public guidelines that all transactions between Bitcoin and the US Dollar are unreportable transactions. By extension, non-taxable.”

If implemented, this proposal would enable Bitcoin to develop as a means of payment in the years to come. Donald Trump did not take up this proposal...

Throughout his speech, Donald Trump showed that he knew how to read his teleprompter perfectly and stick to the speech that had been prepared for him to satisfy the crowd of pseudo-Bitcoiners who had spent a lot of money to come and see him say a few positive words about Bitcoin, which he understands nothing about.

A few excerpts from the key phrases Donald Trump stuck to:

• “Bitcoin will surpass the capitalization of gold one day.”
• “Bitcoin is going to the moon.”
• “The United States will be the crypto capital of the world.”
• “If we don't embrace Bitcoin and crypto technologies, China and other countries will dominate.”
• “I will fire Gary Gensler on my first day in office and appoint a new president.”
• “Attacks on cryptos will stop as soon as I'm elected.”
• “I will create a political cabinet dedicated to Bitcoin.”
• “Bitcoin is not a threat to the dollar, it's the opposite.”

Donald Trump also announced that he would create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the US government starting with the 215,000 BTC that America has stolen from third parties. Donald Trump also pledged never to sell those 215,000 BTC if elected president.

To delight speculators of all stripes, Donald Trump also claimed that “Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will soar like never before if he is elected President of the United States.” He added that “Bitcoin is going to go through the roof.”

The pseudo-Bitcoiners who got lost in the speculation around the price of Bitcoin in weak money must have been delighted, they got their money's worth from Donald Trump's speech.

These pseudo-Bitcoiners were so delighted that they didn't even notice that Donald Trump was equating Bitcoin with cryptocurrencies. Throughout his speech, this came up repeatedly.

His willingness to fire Gary Gensler on the spot stems from the fact that Gensler is first and foremost an enemy of Sh*tcoins. He has never attacked Bitcoin, for example.

Perhaps Donald Trump wants to protect the holders of meme coins bearing his likeness, on which he must hope to make money... Or create new Sh*tcoins in which he would be a stakeholder to make money because that's all he's interested in, in this game that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies represent in his eyes.

You read right. Donald Trump believes that Bitcoin is a game, as he said to conclude his speech:

“Have a good time with your Bitcoin and your crypto and everything else you're playing with.”

Sorry, Donald, Bitcoin is not a game! But to understand that, you would have had to study Bitcoin seriously. Donald Trump couldn't care less about Bitcoin and was simply looking to win votes and money in the marketing operation that he considered the Bitcoin Conference to be. From this point of view, the conference was a great success for him and all those who support Bitcoin speculation.

For those who defend the Bitcoin revolution and its core values, such as yours truly, it was once again clear that the Bitcoin revolution is going down the wrong path, and that there will be an uphill battle in the years to come to preserve the core values of the Bitcoin revolution.

But since you've been reading me for a long time, you shouldn't be surprised, as I've warned you about this risk on numerous occasions.