Tesla Billionaire Elon Musk Issues $35 Trillion U.S. ‘Bankruptcy’ Warning—Predicted To Trigger A Bitcoin Price Boom
The bitcoin price has dropped to almost $60,000 per bitcoin, wiping away most of the gains it made following China's bombshell.
Now, after Elon Musk revealed the details of his secret meeting with El Salvador's bitcoin-backing president Nayib Bukele, the Tesla billionaire has warned the U.S. is heading for bankruptcy after the country's debt jumped $204 billion in one day
"America is headed for bankruptcy," Musk posted to X, the social media platform he bought and rebranded from Twitter, linking to a report of U.S. debt surging on October 1. "Federal debt explodes on 1st day of the new fiscal year, jumping $204 billion to new record of $35.669 trillion, but it gets worse: Treasury also had to draw down its cash balance by $72 billion—that's over $275 billion in the red for just one day," EJ Antoni, an economist with the conservative Heritage Foundation, posted.
Last month, Musk met with El Salvador's bitcoin-backing president Nayib Bukele, who made history when he adopted bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador in 2021, with Bukele predicting the U.S.'s days could be numbered.
U.S. debt interest payments are forecast to hit $870 billion this year, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office earlier this year after runaway inflation pushed the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates at a never-before-seen clip in the aftermath of huge Covid-era spending and money-printing.
U.S. national debt has skyrocketed in recent years, crossing the $34 trillion mark at the beginning of 2024, largely due to Covid and lockdown stimulus measures.
"As both Republican and Democratic parties do not appropriately address the ever-increasing U.S. debts and deficits during this election, this will be very bullish for bitcoin especially post the U.S. election," CK Zheng, chief investment officer of crypto hedge fund ZX Squared Capital, told Cointelegraph.
Earlier this year, Bank of America analysts warned the U.S. debt load is about to ramp up to add $1 trillion every 100 days—potentially fueling a bitcoin price surge—and could reach $36 trillion by the end of 2024.
Last month, the Fed kicked off its interest rate cutting cycle, taking the market somewhat by surprise with a 50 basis point reduction and fueling expectations of a similar sized cut in November—described as "crazy" by BlackRock's chief executive
Bitcoin price swings this week come as tensions rise in the Middle East between Israel and its neighbors, with fears growing the regional conflict could spiral into a wider war—highlighting bitcoin's role as a U.S. dollar and debt hedge.
"Observers of bitcoin prices this week would once again note that it is not a safe haven against geopolitical concerns," Geoff Kendrick, head of crypto research at Standard Chartered Bank, wrote in an emailed note.
"I think this is normal. Gold is a geopolitical hedge. bitcoin is a hedge against [tradit