美国正在讨论比特币储备。这就是为什么这是一个糟糕的主意

战略储备是具有系统重要性的投入的存量，可以通过管理来减轻经济干扰。我们都想到的一个关键例子是美国战略石油储备（SPR），它是半个世纪前为应对阿拉伯石油禁运而建立的。

The United States is reportedly considering creating a "strategic reserve" of Bitcoin, with some proposals suggesting the government acquire one million BTC over five years. However, economists argue that such a stash of a non-essential asset, like cryptocurrency, would provide little value to taxpayers and may benefit those who already hold large amounts of Bitcoin.

据报道，美国正在考虑建立比特币“战略储备”，一些提案建议政府在五年内购买 100 万比特币。然而，经济学家认为，像加密货币这样的非必需资产的储藏不会给纳税人带来什么价值，反而可能会让那些已经持有大量比特币的人受益。

The proposal, spearheaded by Senator Cynthia Lummis, aims to establish a US Treasury Bitcoin Trust Fund, through which the government would acquire, hold, and manage up to one million Bitcoin. This initiative seeks to integrate digital assets into the country's strategic reserves, positioning Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, a tool to reduce national debt, and a means to strengthen America's financial leadership globally.

该提案由参议员 Cynthia Lummis 牵头，旨在建立美国财政部比特币信托基金，政府将通过该基金收购、持有和管理最多 100 万比特币。该举措旨在将数字资产纳入国家战略储备，将比特币定位为对冲通胀的工具、减少国家债务的工具以及加强美国全球金融领导地位的手段。

According to recent market valuation, acquiring one million Bitcoin would set the US back to the tune of around $100 billion, at current prices. However, if the government's presence in the market were to drive up the price, as some anticipate, the final cost could easily surpass a trillion dollars.

根据最近的市场估值，按当前价格计算，购买 100 万比特币将使美国的价值回到 1000 亿美元左右。然而，如果政府介入市场会推高价格，正如一些人预期的那样，最终成本可能轻松超过一万亿美元。

But what exactly would be the purpose of such a reserve? After all, Bitcoin has no inherent utility. To a first approximation, it is used only for speculation (and I suppose some ransomware too). If Bitcoin were to disappear tomorrow, it wouldn't really matter. Planes would still fly, lathes would still turn, and corn would still get harvested.

但这种储备的具体目的是什么？毕竟，比特币没有固有的效用。初步估计，它仅用于猜测（我想也有一些勒索软件）。如果比特币明天就会消失，那也没什么关系了。飞机仍然会飞，车床仍然会转动，玉米仍然会被收割。

I suppose one could argue that Bitcoin holdings are not a reserve at all but might more properly be labeled a stash, and it is fair to observe that economists consider such a stash of little value to taxpayers but of great value to the crypto "whales" who hold most of it. Given that those whales manipulate the cryptocurrency market, it is no surprise that their sentiment is in favor of the government buying Bitcoin.

我想有人可能会争辩说，持有的比特币根本不是储备，但可能更恰当地被称为藏品，而且可以公平地观察到，经济学家认为这种藏品对纳税人来说价值不大，但对加密货币“鲸鱼”来说却具有巨大价值谁持有大部分。鉴于这些鲸鱼操纵了加密货币市场，他们的情绪支持政府购买比特币也就不足为奇了。

One of their arguments is that Bitcoin is a form of digital gold, and since the government holds actual gold, it should sell some of it and replace it with the modern alternative. But that gold has little utility either.

他们的一个论点是，比特币是数字黄金的一种形式，由于政府持有实际的黄金，它应该出售其中一些并用现代替代品取代它。但这些黄金也没什么用处。

Gold reserves (about a sixth of global reserve assets) are no longer used to settle international accounts but are there as a hedge against exchange rate risk. Still, much of the world's official gold reserves are held for no better reason than sheer inertia. There is no benefit to replacing them with gold (or lithium, or water, or anything else that might be more scarce in the future).

黄金储备（约占全球储备资产的六分之一）不再用于结算国际账户，而是作为对冲汇率风险的工具。尽管如此，世界上大部分官方黄金储备的持有只不过是出于惯性。用黄金（或锂、水或任何其他未来可能更稀缺的东西）代替它们没有任何好处。

Never mind national reserves, though, as some observers think that the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve is far more likely to happen at the state level first. Ten U.S. states have already proposed some form of reserve, including a proposal in Texas to build up a Bitcoin reserve simply by encouraging Bitcoin miners in the state to pay their taxes in Bitcoin.

不过，不要介意国家储备，因为一些观察家认为，比特币战略储备的创建更有可能首先在州一级发生。美国十个州已经提出了某种形式的储备，其中包括德克萨斯州的一项提案，即通过鼓励该州的比特币矿工用比特币纳税来建立比特币储备。