As the inauguration of Donald Trump, president-elect of the United States, approaches, optimism is spreading in the virtual asset industry. This is partly due to Trump's second cabinet being filled with pro-virtual asset individuals and Trump having strategically mentioned that he would hoard Bitcoin. The virtual asset industry is paying close attention to whether Trump will issue an executive order on strategic Bitcoin hoarding on his inauguration day.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that the virtual asset industry is persuading Trump to announce strategic hoarding of Bitcoin on his first day in office. According to NYT, before speaking at a Bitcoin conference in July last year, Trump met with executives from the virtual asset industry and mentioned the idea of hoarding Bitcoin as a national strategic reserve asset. Following this, in an interview held at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) last month, when asked whether he would create a virtual asset reserve, Trump answered, "It seems like that." Executives from the virtual asset industry have been lobbying to prepare specific measures so that the strategic hoarding of Bitcoin can lead to actual orders.
NYT reported, citing sources, that the virtual asset industry proposed a draft executive order on cryptocurrency policy to David Sacks, who has been appointed as the cryptocurrency czar in the Trump administration. This proposal includes a policy for strategic hoarding of Bitcoin.
The U.S. government holds about $19 billion (approximately 27.6 trillion won) in Bitcoin seized from criminals and has recently shown signs of attempting to sell it. However, the virtual asset industry recommends that this Bitcoin should not be sold but retained, suggesting a large-scale acquisition of new Bitcoin to create a strategic reserve. The budget for strategic material reserves must be agreed upon by the National Assembly. The industry argues that the profits from strategically hoarding Bitcoin could reduce the national liability, which amounts to $36 trillion (approximately 5,235.1 trillion won), and that it could help the U.S. secure economic advantages if the proportion of virtual assets increases in the future global economy.
NYT explained, "While there are concerns regarding strategic hoarding of Bitcoin, the mere fact that Bitcoin hoarding is being considered is a signal that the political atmosphere surrounding the virtual asset industry has dramatically changed." It is reported that in several states, including Texas, Ohio, and New Hampshire, state-level virtual asset hoarding plans are already being discussed.
In addition to the strategic hoarding of Bitcoin, there are several positive factors for the virtual asset industry. Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that "Trump plans to elevate the status of virtual assets as a policy priority and issue an executive order that would allow industry stakeholders to have a voice within his administration." Trump has indicated his intention to dismiss Gary Gensler, the Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), known as the "grim reaper of virtual assets," on his first day in office, and he has nominated Paul Atkins, a former SEC Commissioner regarded as friendly to virtual assets, as the next Chairperson.
Recently, even conservative pension funds have begun to invest in virtual assets. According to the Financial Times (FT), pension funds in Wisconsin and Michigan have invested in virtual assets, and some pension fund managers in the United Kingdom and Australia have recently started making small investments in Bitcoin. Following Trump's election, as the prices of Bitcoin and other virtual assets surged, pension funds jumped into investment. FT assessed, "The fact that even investment-conservative pension funds are now purchasing Bitcoin suggests that it has become difficult to ignore the enormous revenue potential that can be gained from virtual assets."
As a result, some analysts foresee that Bitcoin prices may soar to double their current levels within this year. Standard Chartered in the UK expects Bitcoin prices to approach $200,000 by the end of the year. Jeff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered Bank, stated, "Over the past year, institutional investors purchased 683,000 Bitcoins through MicroStrategy and ETFs, and I expect the inflow of institutional funds into Bitcoin will continue at a speed exceeding last year's."