Donald Trump Assumes Office With Plans to Make the United States the World's Bitcoin Mining Capital

Many are celebrating the idea of bitcoin as a Strategic Reserve Asset. Supporters like Michael Saylor, Tether, and other large institutional players argue this is a landmark achievement, reinforcing bitcoin's status as a legitimate store of value.

Donald Trump has assumed office with plans to make the United States the world's bitcoin mining capital, a move that is being celebrated by many as bitcoin's role as a Strategic Reserve Asset (SRA) becomes increasingly clear.

Institutions like Tether are profiting massively from this development, with reports indicating that Tether's Q3 2024 earnings have surpassed even those of financial giants like BlackRock. Tether's earnings, largely driven by its investments in U.S. Treasury securities, are providing a crucial buffer for regions grappling with the brunt of imported inflation.

However, this growing institutionalization also carries the risk of compromising bitcoin's original ethos as "freedom money." Its decentralization and censorship resistance properties could be eroded under the weight of regulatory and economic control.

Trump's administration has framed bitcoin mining as a national priority, highlighting the finite capacity of bitcoin blocks that limits the number of transactions. This provides an opportunity for the U.S. to assert dominance in the "block space," influencing transaction censorship via compliance with Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions or other regulatory tools.

There is already a precedent for such control. In 2021, Marathon attempted to mine "OFAC-compliant" blocks, filtering transactions from sanctioned entities. More recently, mining pools like F2Pool have been flagged for possibly excluding sanctioned transactions.

Trump's push for mining dominance could pave the way for institutionalizing these practices, using tools like the Bank Secrecy Act and FATF recommendations that promote widespread KYC and classify wallet software as Crypto Asset Service Providers.

U.S. regulations often set the tone for the international community, especially in financial systems. For instance, the FATF's global anti-money laundering standards reflect U.S. priorities, and its recommendations have influenced crypto regulations worldwide.

Trump's administration could use bitcoin mining dominance to propagate a framework that aligns with U.S. geopolitical goals. Former White House cybersecurity advisor Carol House suggested in a 2023 talk that network-level censorship could serve national interests, hinting at the potential to regulate bitcoin under the guise of national security.

The United States has a history of extending its financial jurisdiction beyond its borders to combat illicit activities. For example, in January 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network identified Bitzlato Limited, a Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange, as a "primary money laundering concern" due to its connections with Russian illicit finance.

This designation led to prohibitions on certain fund transmittals involving Bitzlato by any covered financial institution, effectively restricting its operations on a global scale.

In March 2023, U.S. and German authorities shut down ChipMixer, a cryptocurrency service that allegedly laundered over $3 billion in crypto assets since 2017. ChipMixer was reportedly used by ransomware groups, suspected North Korean hackers, and darknet market users to conceal the origins of illicit funds. These actions demonstrate how the U.S. extends its regulatory reach to enforce financial laws internationally.

Advocates of bitcoin's role as an SBR, like Senator Cynthia Lummis, tout it as a solution to U.S. economic challenges, claiming it could "address a meaningful portion of our debt" and strengthen global positioning.

Michael Saylor's proposals go even further, suggesting the U.S. government should acquire 20-25% of bitcoin to "control the world reserve capital network." Saylors Digital Assets Framework highlights the role of criminal liability in enforcing compliance and transparency, ensuring participants adhere to legal and ethical standards while minimizing fraud and misconduct.

Such frameworks could be used to strengthen centralization, potentially solidifying the U.S.'s grip on bitcoin and transforming it from an open, neutral network into a tool of statecraft.

This narrative conceals the dangers of institutionalizing bitcoin. Saylor has acknowledged the risks associated with non-compliance to regulatory standards, stating: "I think that when bitcoin is held by a bunch of crypto-anarchists who aren’t regulated entities, who don’t acknowledge government or don’t acknowledge taxes or don’t acknowledge reporting requirements, that increases the risk of seizure."

This perspective aligns with moves like Lummis's 2023 amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, targeting anonymous transactions and asset mixers, and shows how the SRA framework could enforce stringent oversight, reducing bitcoin's utility as a censorship-resistant currency.

While bitcoin's role as an SBR gains attention, stablecoin giant Tether operates in parallel, profiting immensely from global instability. According to reports, Tether's Q3 2024 earnings surpassed even those of financial giants like BlackRock.

Tether's earnings, largely driven by its investments in U.S. Treasury securities, are providing a crucial buffer for regions grappling with the brunt of imported inflation. These