Former US President Donald Trump claims that he dislikes bitcoin because it is a competitor to the dollar, which he wants to be the world’s currency and urged US regulators to take action to monitor it.
Trump Thinks Bitcoin Is A Scam
Trump was asked about his opinion on cryptocurrency and the US stock market during an interview with Stuart Varney on the Fox Business Network, which the ex-president stated he was avoiding as well. Trump said:
“Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam. I don’t like it because it’s another currency competing against the dollar.”
Trump reiterated, “My opinion is that the currency of this world should be the dollar, and I don’t think we should have all of the bitcoins of the world out there,” elaborating: “I think they should regulate them very, very high.”
The former president also singled out Libra, a cryptocurrency owned by social media giant Facebook. Diem is the new name for Libra. According to Trump’s tweet, “Facebook Libra’s ‘virtual currency’ will have little standing or dependability. If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new banking charter and become subject to all banking regulations, just like other banks, both national and international.”
Trump concluded his series of tweets with: “We have only one real currency in the USA, and it is stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable. It is by far the most dominant currency anywhere in the World, and it will always stay that way. It is called the United States dollar.”
Trump’s comments appeared to drive a dip in Bitcoin’s value as its price fell by over 1.3% (from $36,472 to $35,973) in the hour after the interview.
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Not The First Time
This isn’t the first time Trump has voiced a negative opinion about Bitcoin. The price of the crypto fell by about $10,000 in 2019 after the then-president said he wasn’t a “fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.” Former Trump administration National Security Advisor John Bolton also said Monday the ex-president “on several occasions” spoke to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin about outlawing cryptocurrency.
In posts to his now-deleted Twitter account, Mr Trump assailed Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as “highly volatile” in July of 2019, while adding that he was “not a fan” of them.
“Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity,” he added at the time.
The former president’s remarks came after a conference sponsored by Bitcoin supporters in Miami, Fla., over the weekend, with videos of the event becoming viral after a fan of the competing Dogecoin currency attacked the stage and was removed by security.
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Featured image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView.