Ever since Donald Trump Tweeted about Bitcoin a couple of weeks ago, the entire crypto world has been fearing that he will move to ban the market-leading cryptocurrency. Trump’s comment of “not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies” came only hours after Fed chair Jerome Powell called Bitcoin “digital gold”. People are still unsure as to what Trump will do about Bitcoin, with many fearing that he will impose an outright ban on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However, an outright ban on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is actually pretty unlikely – so stop worrying!
Libra Creating the Spark
The fear about Trump banning Bitcoin stems from the US Senate’s stance towards Libra. Since Facebook announced Libra through its white paper, the US Senate has had a knee-jerk reaction that is to stop Libra in its tracks. The government has been pushing back against Libra since day one, and it has roped in the mainstream media to spread FUD about Libra to help the general public see it as evil too. It’s this sudden reaction to Libra that has got the crypto world on edge, and now Trump is Tweeting about his dissatisfaction with crypto, people are presuming the worst.
Trump Can’t Kill Bitcoin
Trump has a lot of power at his disposal, but even an executive order signed by Donald J Trump himself couldn’t kill Bitcoin – it lives on a public, open, and distributed ledger, after all. Even China couldn’t kill Bitcoin, and China has the Great Firewall as a weapon to use against BTC. Chinese citizens still found ways to buy Bitcoin and so too will Americans if Trump makes it illegal – just like American citizens can still buy other illegal substances. If anything, making Bitcoin illegal will only make Bitcoin more valuable and popular than ever before.
Too Much Money at Stake
Even if Trump could kill Bitcoin, why would he? If every tenth person in the United States alone bought, held, and used Bitcoin, the tax revenue would be insatiable. The United States government is always looking for new revenue streams, and if it decides to create sweeping tax regulations for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies then it could actually benefit from Bitcoin. If Bitcoin was taxed the same as other investments, then the United States government would be looking at a major payday – meaning Trump could spend more on projects, keeping the voters happy.
Targeting Crypto Exchanges
Let’s say Trump decides to do his damnedest to kill Bitcoin, he would have to either team up with the banks or heavily regulated crypto exchanges – to the point they cannot operate anymore. Trump and his government could rope all banks servicing American citizens to ban all transactions relating to cryptocurrencies or exchanges – similarly to the Malta model. This would already make it tough for Americans to access Bitcoin, but not impossible. Wells Fargo is already banning its customers from making transfers or purchases with crypto exchanges, so we could already be witnessing this plan creep into action.
Secondly, Trump could go after crypto exchanges that serve Americans. We already know that large crypto exchanges have been pulling out of America, forcing their clients to head elsewhere or use their own dedicated US crypto exchange. If Trump was to go after crypto exchanges and shut them down, it would become virtually impossible for Americans to buy and sell Bitcoin. Combine both ideas and you have the ultimate plan to stifle Bitcoin in America, but it would have very little impact elsewhere around the globe – sorry Americans.
No Ban Incoming
Long story short, yes, Trump could try to ban Bitcoin in America, but it would be a massive headache to pull off. Should he somehow manage to achieve it, the US government will be missing out on a massive revenue stream, as well as the best way to monitor public spending activities – we all know that’s a US pastime. In all likelihood, we will see Bitcoin continue to grow and thrive in the US with a bunch of new regulations hitting the crypto world in the coming months.
