Dateline: Amsterdam, 7th April 2025.A strategic reserve is a stock of a systemically important input, which can be managed to mitigate economic disruption. The key example that we all think about is the US strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) which was created in response to the Arab oil embargo half a century ago. It was most recently accessed to reduce pressure on energy prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The stockpile makes sense because the commodity is essential to the economy: without petroleum the economy will grind to a halt.By contrast, not only is bitcoin not essential to the economy it has, so far as the numbers tell us, no real utility. If the value of Bitcoin hit zero tomorrow (perhaps because of quantum computer or something), it would not matter to the US economy at all.Subscribe nowThe PlanWhile it is not for me to comment on American politics, I cannot help but notice that there is a new President and that one of the proposals that he originally floated was a “strategic reserve” where the US would hoard billions of dollars worth of the cryptocurrency.Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced the BITCOIN Act of 2024, which proposed that the US Treasury establish this reserve by acquiring one million BTC over five years, with annual purchases of 200,000 BTC. This initiative positioned Bitcoin as a strategic asset to hedge against inflation, reduce national debt and strengthen the US’s financial leadership globally (although how is not exactly clear to me, to be honest).(A…The US Government's Bitcoin… What?

Dateline: Amsterdam, 7th April 2025.A strategic reserve is a stock of a systemically important input, which can be managed to mitigate economic disruption. The key example that we all think about is the US strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) which was created in response to the Arab oil embargo half a century ago. It was most recently accessed to reduce pressure on energy prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The stockpile makes sense because the commodity is essential to the economy: without petroleum the economy will grind to a halt.By contrast, not only is bitcoin not essential to the economy it has, so far as the numbers tell us, no real utility. If the value of Bitcoin hit zero tomorrow (perhaps because of quantum computer or something), it would not matter to the US economy at all.Subscribe nowThe PlanWhile it is not for me to comment on American politics, I cannot help but notice that there is a new President and that one of the proposals that he originally floated was a “strategic reserve” where the US would hoard billions of dollars worth of the cryptocurrency.Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced the BITCOIN Act of 2024, which proposed that the US Treasury establish this reserve by acquiring one million BTC over five years, with annual purchases of 200,000 BTC. This initiative positioned Bitcoin as a strategic asset to hedge against inflation, reduce national debt and strengthen the US’s financial leadership globally (although how is not exactly clear to me, to be honest).(A…The US Government's Bitcoin… What?