- A Trump executive order and Senator Lummis’ initiative propose establishing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency strategic reserves as part of US government portfolios.
- Data for Progress found only 10% of Americans want government spending on cryptocurrency, with 51% opposing a crypto reserve while prioritising social security, Medicare, and education.
- Survey results might have differed had questions focused specifically on Bitcoin rather than using “Bitcoin” and “crypto” interchangeably, as Bitcoin recognition (58%) exceeds general cryptocurrency awareness.
- Cryptocurrency still faces significant trust issues, with 63% of Americans doubting its reliability and safety according to Pew Research, a perception not helped by recent industry scandals.
Bitcoin and altcoins could be part of strategic reserves or stockpiles, according to a Trump executive order. There is also Cynthia Lummis’ initiative which is looking at a law to make a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve part of the US Government financial portfolio.
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While it seems bullish for the asset class – after all, the government would need to buy large amounts, which would push the price up – according to new findings not many US citizens approve of the initiative.
Crypto Not on Americans’ Main Agenda
According to a survey by progressive think tank Data for Progress, many US voters want government to spend money on things other than crypto. They found that only 10% of the populace would like to see the federal government spend money on cryptocurrency.
That’s in contrast to around 28% of Americans who own crypto, according to a recent survey by security.org.
The Data for Progress survey found that social security, Medicare, public infrastructure and education are by far more important topics.
It also found that voters directly reject a crypto reserve, with only 34% saying they somewhat support or strongly support it. 51% said they oppose such an idea, with a majority of Democrats and Independents opposing it, while Republicans are divided on the issue.
Though it should be noted that the questions asked used Bitcoin and crypto interchangeably. It could be that asking about a crypto reserve and then suggesting it could “likely hold cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum”, might bring a different result than if they had asked solely about Bitcoin.
A recent Coinbase survey found that 58% of Americans have heard about Bitcoin and 37% named Bitcoin when asked about cryptocurrencies.
This suggests Bitcoin could have a better standing among the general population, which may lead to a different outcome if people were asked about a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Also, Trump’s executive order specifically called for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a crypto stockpile – two separate things.
Crypto Still Has an Image Problem
Regardless of semantics, it is true that crypto and Bitcoin still have a long way to go until they become fully accepted. Although Trump’s election has helped push along adoption somewhat, it has also hurt it in other parts.
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The incoming president selling a memecoin, which is now down 85% from its all-time high, is certainly not a great look.
And the Trump tariff war is also hurting, at least in the short term.
A recent Pew Research survey also suggests many don’t trust the industry – not all that surprising given all the scandals we have seen over the years.
According to the survey, 63% of Americans are not convinced of crypto’s reliability and safety, with only 5% extremely or very confident.
