MAGA: Trump Says Bitcoin Looks Like A Scam Photo: Former President Donald Trump speaks at the North Carolina Republican Convention June 5, 2021, in Greenville, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
Former President Donald Trump isn’t impressed with bitcoin, saying the digital currency “seems like a scam” that “takes the edge off of the dollar.”
During a recent interview with Fox Business, Trump said, “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. I think they should regulate them very, very high. It takes the edge off of the dollar and the importance of the dollar.”
Several countries, including the U.S., are looking at ways to regulate the crypto market. President Joe Biden has also zeroed in on the lack of regulation in the crypto market.
Regulation is needed, the Biden administration said, because cryptocurrencies remains risky and unstable. The crypto world is vulnerable to scammers. Ransomware actors use cryptocurrency to launder their transactions. The U.S. Justice Department announced that authorities recovered $2.3 million in bitcoin paid to ransomware hackers who attacked the Colonial Pipeline last month.
From June 7 to June 8, the price of Bitcoin fell roughly 8 percent, according to Coindesk, and was trading near $33,200 at 4:45 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
Other digital currencies, including Ethereum and Dogecoin, also dropped around 8 percent or more.
The price of Bitcoin plunged more than 40 percent in May. This was blamed in part on negative tweets by former Bitcoin supporter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk also announced that his company would stop accepting the cryptocurrency as payment for electric vehicles, CNN reported.
Some on Twitter disagreed with Trump on his Bitcoin-as-a-scam message.
“Don’t worry, once he finds out it funds the @GOP’s white supremacist militia he’ll see the value,” Rachel Bitecofer @RachelBitecofer tweeted.
Sanjoin @he03554618 posted, “The us dollar is the scam, #btc the scam killer”
Others agreed with Trump’s take on bitcoin. “Tell me what you can use Bitcoin for tangibly that isnt black market drugs” serious@gringostomach tweeted.
As part of his effort to get the crypto market under control, Biden recently unveiled new plans to tax bitcoin more heavily. The Federal Reserve also seems to be leaning toward exploring a potential digital dollar.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 74: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin returns for a new season of the GHOGH podcast to discuss Bitcoin, bubbles, and Biden. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. Are broader financial markets in a massive speculative bubble?
