“It is a Trump-like comment but it is definitely not in reality”—Tech Expert Challenges Trump’s Bitcoin Pledge
A technology expert sharply criticized President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to make all remaining Bitcoin “made in the U.S.A.,” calling the goal “near impossible” to achieve. Trump’s vow, made in a Truth Social post in June, has raised eyebrows due to the decentralized nature of Bitcoin and the increasingly competitive global market for cryptocurrency.
“It is a Trump-like comment but it is definitely not in reality,” Ethan Vera, the chief operating officer at Luxor Technology, a company that provides software and services to Bitcoin miners, told Bloomberg. He explained that blockchains—the foundation of Bitcoin—are decentralized networks, meaning no single entity can control or limit participation in the process.
This makes Trump’s ambition of controlling Bitcoin production in the U.S. a challenging, if not impossible, task. While Trump’s pledge is generally seen as a symbolic gesture of support for the cryptocurrency sector, the practicality of the idea is highly questionable.
Bloomberg’s report points out that the Bitcoin industry is growing increasingly competitive, with large-scale operations popping up worldwide, all vying for a share of the tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue generated by Bitcoin.
Currently, more than 95 percent of the 21 million Bitcoins that will ever exist have already been mined, but the hard cap on production won’t be reached for about 100 years, according to Bloomberg. The global market for Bitcoin mining is expanding, with new competitors such as Russian oligarchs, Dubai royal families, and Chinese businessmen investing in the energy-intensive process in Africa and elsewhere.
Trump’s administration is still committed to ensuring the U.S. remains a leader in the cryptocurrency space, according to his transition team. “President Trump campaigned on a vision for America to remain the world leader in the next frontiers of technology, from cryptocurrency to AI,” said Kush Desai, a Trump-Vance transition spokesman.
“The Trump-Vance administration will work with industry titans and unleash our talent and resources to ensure American leadership and innovation in every facet of the cryptocurrency industry, from mining to end-user solutions.”
Despite these ambitions, experts remain skeptical that the U.S. can take the lead in Bitcoin mining given the decentralized and highly competitive nature of the industry.