Trump calls Bitcoin a scam, advocates for dollar hegemony
Former United States President Donald Trump has once again slammed Bitcoin (BTC).
Appearing on FOX Business on Monday, the former president remarked:
“Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam […] I don’t like it because it is another currency competing against the dollar. Essentially, it is a currency competing against the dollar. I want the dollar to be the currency of the world, that’s what I’ve always said.”TRUMP: Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam. I don't like it. I want the dollar to be the currency of the world. pic.twitter.com/CXjALsJmXx
— August Takala (@AugustTakala) June 7, 2021Trump's comments are in line with his previously espoused views on Bitcoin. Indeed, back in July 2019 while in office, Trump stated that he was not a fan of Bitcoin and crypto.
At the time, Trump identified price volatility as a major point for his anti-crypto stance while stating that cryptocurrencies were not money and that their value was based on “thin air.”
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the Trump administration specifically sought to enact anti-crypto policies, with Trump allegedly telling former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to “go after Bitcoin.”
The final days of the Trump administration also saw the Treasury stir the pot with controversial regulations aimed at monitoring self-hosted wallets. This Trump-era policy has become even further expanded by the administration of Joe Biden, with the Internal Revenue Service also looking to close crypto-related tax loopholes.
However, pro-crypto congresspeople like Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Warren Davidson continue to advocate for crypto wallet privacy rights.
The conversation around cryptocurrency regulations in the United States seems to has shifted toward ransomware as the new focus for the anti-crypto crowd in Washington. A spate of ransomware attacks in the U.S. is likely responsible for the new narrative shift.
Back in May, Cointelegraph reported that the Biden administration was examining gaps in existing crypto rules in the wake of the recent price downturn in the market.