Journalist
Posted:
- The US Treasury Department recognizes Bitcoin as “digital gold” and emphasizes its role as a store of value.
- Trump’s appointment of Scott Bessent indicated a strong advocacy for Bitcoin and potential strategic backup plans.
Bitcoin [BTC]The rise to the $100,000 mark has created a global frenzy, attracting investors, institutions and even governments.
Amid this optimism, Tesla’s Elon Musk has called for the US to create a strategic reserve of BTC, citing concerns about the country’s $36 trillion national debt.
The US Treasury Department recognizes Bitcoin as ‘digital gold’
The US Treasury Department has officially confirmed this recognized Bitcoin as “digital gold,” highlighting its emerging role as a store of value.
In a recent report, the Treasury stated,
“The primary use case for Bitcoin appears to be a store of value, also known as ‘digital gold,’ in a world of decentralized finance (DeFi),”
The US Treasury Department’s recognition of BTC as a store of value similar to gold underlines its meteoric rise, with its market value rising from $6.4 billion in 2015 to an astonishing $1.3 trillion in 2024.
This exponential growth underlines the increasing interest in DeFi and digital tokens.
Trump’s US Bitcoin Strategy
Adding to the momentum, US President Donald Trump has nominated pro-Bitcoin lawyer Scott Bessent as the next Treasury Secretary.
That said, Trump’s previous promise to create a “strategic national Bitcoin reserve” and his bold prediction that BTC could surpass gold’s $16 trillion market cap indicate a significant shift in the national approach to digital assets.
In fact, Bessent commented on the same post-Trump Bitcoin reserve proposal, saying:
“I think everything is on the table with Bitcoin.”
Other executives are participating
Additionally, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell recently compared Bitcoin to gold at the DealBook conference.
He said:
“It’s just like gold, only it’s virtual. People do not use it as a means of payment or as a store of value. It is very volatile. It is not a competitor to the dollar, it is really a competitor to gold.”
Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, echoed a similar sentiment Dennis Porterwho said,
“The US Treasury just declared that Bitcoin is digital gold, and yet some people still think $100,000 Bitcoin is too expensive. We are going much higher.”
Bitcoin’s price action
Meanwhile, BTC is down 0.67% over the past 24 hours, trading at $98,607.58 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.
However, analysts speculate that the rally could lose further momentum after Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Still, the future remains uncertain as Bitcoin navigates its next steps – whether it will maintain its bullish trend or undergo a bearish shift.