A small note that says "$35 trillion in cryptocurrency, we have no debt" - this is the US President's "brilliant idea" to solve the national debt problem.
"The Fed printed too many US dollars? Then let's use cryptocurrency to repay the debt!" Trump threw out this statement that shocked global financial markets during a public speech in Washington. Right at the moment when the US national debt officially surpassed the historic milestone of $38 trillion in October 2025, Trump once again demonstrated his unconventional style.
At a private gathering, Trump was even more blunt: "I would write on a little note: $35 trillion in cryptocurrency, we have no debt, that's what I like to do." This statement, seemingly a joke, exposes the severity of the current US debt crisis and the unconventional solutions Trump's team is exploring.
Debt Crisis Out of Control
The US national debt reaching $38 trillion is a dizzying number. This figure is larger than the combined economic size of China, Germany, Japan, India, and the United Kingdom.
Even more worrying is the growth rate of the national debt. It took the US only a little over two months to go from $37 trillion to $38 trillion. This growth rate sets a record for the fastest trillion-dollar debt accumulation outside of the pandemic period.
A closer look at the data reveals an even more startling situation. The US national debt is growing at a rate of about $70,000 per second. This means that in the few minutes it takes you to read this article, the national debt has increased by tens of millions of dollars.
Interest payments on the national debt have become the fastest-growing part of the budget. Last year, US national debt interest payments were about $1.3 trillion, which has already exceeded US military spending (the 2025 defense budget is about $895 billion).
Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, issued a warning: "We spent $4 trillion on interest over the past decade, but will spend $14 trillion in the next decade." These interest payments crowd out future important public and private investments, harming the economic interests of every American.
Trump's Cryptocurrency Solution
Faced with this colossal debt, Trump proposed an unprecedented solution—cryptocurrency. Trump's "crypto solution" superficially resembles political humor, but behind it lies his strategic thinking about "de-dollarization" and "debt restructuring."
In his public speech, Trump said: "Too much dollar debt? Don't worry, we now have a new monetary system—blockchain and cryptocurrency will allow America to redefine credit." This statement is not an isolated incident but part of a series of actions by Trump supporting cryptocurrency.
After taking office, Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. This was not just a personal pardon but also a move to pull the entire crypto camp into his camp. The Trump administration may promote a "US version of sovereign crypto assets" pilot in the coming years, handling part of the debt in the form of digital assets.
Trump's strategy is to make the United States a leader in the cryptocurrency field. On March 6, 2025, Trump signed an executive order defining Bitcoin as "digital gold" and authorizing the Treasury Department to establish a national strategic BTC reserve based on the principle of "budget neutrality."
The US government is even accumulating Bitcoin through "legal" confiscation means. In October 2025, the US Department of Justice filed criminal charges against Cambodia's "Prince Group," confiscating 127,271 Bitcoins obtained through fraud by the group, bringing the US government's Bitcoin holdings to over 320,000.
The Possibility of Repaying Debt with Bitcoin
Trump's idea sounds bold, but how would it work in practice? Let's look at the data.
The current US national debt is as high as $38 trillion, and the total market capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency market is far from reaching this scale. Even using all cryptocurrencies would hardly be enough to pay off the debt, making it operationally unfeasible.
Specifically for Bitcoin, the situation is more complex. If the US attempted to use its approximately 320,000 Bitcoins to repay the debt, each Bitcoin would need to be worth about $116.5 million. This is about 1,000 times higher than the current market price of approximately $108,000.
At this valuation, Bitcoin's total market capitalization would soar to about $230 trillion, more than twice the global GDP. Clearly, this valuation is impossible to achieve in reality because even if the price miraculously reached such heights, its operating mechanism would collapse long before the debt disappeared.
The average daily trading volume of Bitcoin is about $60-70 billion, only a small fraction of the $7.5 trillion liquidity in the global bond or foreign exchange markets. Attempting to sell even a small amount of Bitcoin to "repay" government debt would immediately overwhelm market demand and destroy price depth.
Actual Strategic Intent
So, what is Trump's real intention? Expert analysis suggests that this proposal is more of a symbolic political statement than a practical economic plan.
Its core idea is to attempt to transfer or transform the US debt burden into a globally recognized "store of value" by creating or utilizing a new type of digital asset with broad consensus, thereby technically achieving a "reset" of the debt.
The intentions behind this proposal may include: political narrative construction, portraying himself as a reformer who embraces innovation and challenges the old financial system to gain broad support from the crypto community and young voters.
Trump is also sending a strategic signal: if his administration governs, it will vigorously promote the US to take a leading position in the cryptocurrency field and elevate it to a strategic height related to national competitive advantage.
This is also a test of market reaction. By putting forward this bold idea, he can observe the reactions of the market, traditional financial institutions, and international creditors to prepare for possible future policy adjustments.
Potential Impact and Risks
Even if unfeasible, Trump's proposal could have a significant impact on the market. Such remarks may boost sentiment in the cryptocurrency market in the short term and be interpreted as a major positive by some investors.
Compared to the highly volatile Bitcoin, USD-pegged stablecoins might play a more practical role in Trump's strategy. His advisors have stated that regulated stablecoin legislation could create trillions of dollars in demand for US Treasury debt "overnight."
Trump's remarks also carry serious risks. If unilaterally attempting to repay debt denominated in fiat currency with assets not backed by sovereign credit, it could be interpreted by the market as a form of default.
This would severely damage the international credit of the US dollar and US Treasury bonds, leading to catastrophic consequences. No country would be willing to risk accepting this method of debt repayment, as Bitcoin's volatility is more intense than that of stocks.
This plan also faces legal obstacles. Current US law does not recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. To use Bitcoin to repay national debt, the US government would need to amend relevant laws, which is almost an impossible task under the contentious mechanism of the US Congress.
In the future, we might see more innovative financial products like "BitBonds" emerge—a kind of BTC-enhanced Treasury bond that allows investors to share in part of the appreciation of BTC while receiving a low fixed interest rate. The US government could then hedge its debt through reserve appreciation.
But the immediate reality is that the US national debt is still increasing by nearly $70,000 every second. While Trump talks about his cryptocurrency solution, the US federal government remains partially shut down, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are not getting paid, and parts of economic activity are in chaos.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are not magic wands to solve the debt crisis, but they are becoming part of the discussion on US fiscal strategy. This interplay between debt and crypto could reshape the global financial landscape and go further than we imagine.
