The Treasury Department plans to print President Donald Trump’s signature on every new U.S. paper bill. Treasury announced the idea Thursday.

top 100 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 230 points 7 months ago (20 children)

I'm impressed at their creativity in devaluing the dollar in a new way every day!

  • source
  • hideshow 20 child comments
  • [–] -2 points 7 months ago (17 children)

    I'm really surprised that BTC has dived alongside it. You would think people would see the risks of a compromised state-owned currency and want to flee towards a decentralized alternative (which is currently below 70K down from it's all time high of 123K).

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 17 child comments
  • [–] 33 points 7 months ago (11 children)

    Bitcoin is more centralized than the dollar. Most is owned but a few large holders, the whales.

    It is a poor store of value as it is hard to access in an emergency. Has no utility beyond storing value, unlike gold or silver or shares or bonds. The reason people put their money there is not to escape the fiat system or to make transfers easier (both valid use cases). It's to try and make a quick buck. Unfortunately, most won't. As more and more start to lose money, it will continue to drop.

    The technology is sound but the processing speed and acceptance and cost to process transactions, computationally and in dollar value makes it useless for its stated purpose. Which was part of the design.

    As card prices have gone up, and energy prices for up, mining Bitcoin becomes uneconomical, so I'd expect less hype and many players to exit leaving others holding the bag.

    It may resurge when there are cheap cards after an ai crash. However, I don't see Bitcoin taking over as a payment system replacing the existing banking system. Even Europe faces with visa and MasterCard being a risk for payment processing after American fuckery aren't looking at Bitcoin as the answer. They are looking at block chain technology, though, as being part of the solution.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 11 child comments
  • [–] -1 points 7 months ago* (10 children)

    Market cap on BTC is 21M coins and the largest individual owner has 1.1M coins while the next two largest owners is 70k coins and 30k coins respectively. I think a small country and the FBI are also major holders.

    The capability for those owners to devalue it via selloff is infinitely less than the capability of a country to devalue its currency via selloff, inflation from minting and loan interest rates, poor trade practices, etc.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 10 child comments
  • [–] 7 points 7 months ago (9 children)

    A country devaluing their currency has negative effects for them. So they don't have incentive to do so. Even with hyperinflation in countries like Argentina, people start to use a different currency, like the dollar.

    For Bitcoin I'm just copying and pasting: Top 10 addresses: The 10 richest Bitcoin wallets (excluding Satoshi Nakamoto’s dormant holdings) collectively hold roughly 1.1 million BTC, about 5.5% of the total supply. Top 100 addresses: The 100 largest wallets control approximately 2.9 million BTC, around 14–15% of the circulating supply. “Whale” wallets (>1,000 BTC): There are 2,000–2,100 addresses that each hold at least 1,000 BTC (worth $100+ million apiece). Collectively, these large holders own over 36% of all Bitcoin.

    This also assumes that wallets are individual people. Some wallets may be only part of some holdings and the same entity might have multiple addresses.

    In the case of Bitcoin if they decide it's not viable and want to sell, there is no negative effect for them once their holdings are gone, should their sale cause a crash. Theat level of control of the market is unheard of. Even looking at the plays on GBP in the past, it was based on much smaller amounts.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 9 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (8 children)

    Assuming a world of only rational actors only takes you further away from reality.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 8 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (7 children)

    Haha, true that. However, I'm pretty sure the whales will act in their interest. Financially or otherwise.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
  • [–] -1 points 7 months ago (6 children)

    And you should, but it's foolish to think that the nations will.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (5 children)

    The difference is the nations effects have diminishing returns. So as they make moves that crash the currency. There is pressure on them to stop or change. Either financial if it's for corruption or political if it's for other reasons.

    For Bitcoin whales, there is no such pressure or negative effect. Once they sell their holdings, they are done.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] -1 points 7 months ago* (4 children)

    I don't know how to tell you this but nations have on many occasions made their currency worthless.

    The pressure to stop despots and morons from destroying their value is meaningless when BTC DOESN'T EVEN HAVE THE SAME MECHANISMS TO DESTROY VALUE.

    All the whales can do is sell, and its not enough to harm the value long term because when they sell then somebody else will own it.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 0 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    Yes, I know but usually not on purpose and in the process of enriching themselves.

    With Bitcoin, it is in their interest to sell of they think it's starting to devalue and that may be permanent. So the market pressure is in the opposite direction of where it would be for a currency where the central bank has no interest in profit but only stability. That can be corrupted, of course. But with currency, that's in a worst case scenario. With Bitcoin, that's the norm.

    When the shakes sell, the value drops. Someone else only owns it if the sale is successful. At a certain point it becomes a falling knife. So their only interest is to try and sell before anyone notices. Eg quickly, which will cause a bigger drop.

    That's what I mean. The incentives in Bitcoin for individuals are pervers for Bitcoin as a whole.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] -1 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    Every 3 or 4 years for over 20 years there are droves of people like you saying the value dropping is permanent, that it will never go back up, and yet it has gone from pennies a coin to over $123,000 USD per coin. As BTC adoption rate increases so does price and stability, and BTC adoption rate has always increased and in my opinion will continue to do so for many decades.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (1 child)

    In what way do you think Bitcoin adoption has increased? I still don't see it's use for transfers nor as a safe value store. It's used as an investment strategy, yes, but not based on any fundamentals apart from market sentiment.

    I don't know if the value drop this time is permanent. What o know is that I don't foresee Bitcoin being a replacement for global currencies. I think the digital euro has more of a chance of that happening.

    Bitcoins value increase from mining is what made it popular. That is no longer the case. The hope is that as mining ceases it becomes non inflationary as the number is finite.

    That whole proposition is based on Bitcoin being the primary store of value. If the rest of the world continues to have currencies which are inflationary, then the price of Bitcoin will represent its value in dollar terms, as it does now. So as the dollar depreceates, the value of Bitcoin in dollar terms should rise. No different to how the equivalent euro or gold does now. So it's not a magical hedge.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] -1 points 7 months ago

    LINK an exponential chart with a collection of surveys showing increased number of BTC owners at about 520,000,000.0 people in 2024 up from 390.0 in early 2009. If it were a linear chart it would probably look like an almost vertical line.

    You can also purchase cards with which to buy stuff from stores from some exchanges and they convert to your currency of choice on credit, you can use BTC kiosks in most major cities, and you can use it directly at a variety of stores in several countries including Switzerland, Venezuela, and it was widespread in Zimbabwe until their central bank banned it.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    It's not designed for used as a currency. A block gets mined every ten minutes and can contain only 3000 transactions.

    For comparison, Mastercard processes 3000 transactions in 0.15 seconds instead of ten minutes.

    Can you imagine being in a store and waiting your payment to be confirmed in 2-3 blocks to avoid double spending

    30 minutes to confirm (if paid enough for fees) vs 0.15 seconds

    And so much efficient!

    To mine one block, the global network consumes approximately 2.5 to 3.0 GWh. 3000 transactions = 1 MWh per transaction

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] -3 points 7 months ago* (1 child)

    That's like the same concern as waiting in the store for two weeks while the bank transfers cash via armored truck to the store's bank. That's not how anything works.

    Mastercard and Visa have been threatening to shut down online platforms they don't like, recently they blacklisted a judge from the international justice court for ruling against Israel. And hey, if we suddenly want to release the IBM source code and banking secrets which are the backbone of almost all modern transactions, I'm all for it.

    The only reason to use BTC is its adoption rate being so much higher than any other cryptocurrency.

    Also, the majority of power wasted is due to competing miners racing to mine the same blocks, which is presumably about to end given the 21M coin limit and the 20M mined so far in 2026.

    But let's not pretend to care about the power for digital transactions when we as a collective race are spending terawatts generating AI Porn and writing worthless inaccurate articles.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 132 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a statement that printing Trump’s signature on the American currency “is not only appropriate, but also well deserved.”

    The exact opposite of this is true.

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 5 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    The exact opposite of this is true.

    Wait, are you saying that U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach didn't say this or that it isn't appropriate or well-deserved? /serious

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 120 points 7 months ago* (7 children)

    What a great way to ensure all money is defaced and will cost extra to constantly reissue it.

    I will be sure to write child fucker under his name on every note I see.

  • source
  • hideshow 7 child comments
  • [–] 30 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    How long before the first person dies because the cops try and arrest someone who defaced one.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 5 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    Only technically illegal if it's done with intent to change the face value, advertise commercial services, or to remove it from circulation. Since it's still spendable, not advertising, and we would want these altered bills to continue circulating, it wouldn't be a crime.

    It's not going to stop them from harassing the artist though.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 20 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

    Oh yeah, I'm going to vandalize every one that goes through my hands. Traitor, Pedophile, rapist, draw a dick in mouth, coming on his face, etc. And I'm going to take photos of any good ones I see before passing them along.

    At first I was pissed about it, but now I'm going to have fun.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 33 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    What, with like an auto-pen or something?

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 32 points 7 months ago
    [–] 24 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    I will redact his name on every one I get.

    Stock market tip: BUY stock in sharpies.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 23 points 7 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 22 points 7 months ago (5 children)

    Money shouldn't have anyone's signature. Such ugly vanity should be illegal.

  • source
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] 11 points 7 months ago* (3 children)

    australia’s notes all have tiny signatures of the governor of the reserve bank, and the secretary to the treasury and have for at least as long as i can remember… i don’t think it’s a vanity thing in that case

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    The signature of the president of the treasury that has always been on the bills had nothing to do with vanity, but with the president of the bank issuing the money guaranteeing the value of the money.

    But who is going to trust the value of money guaranteed by Donald Trump?

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 43 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    Pretty sure its illegal but its less illegal than his face on it.

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 21 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    "Illegal" never stopped him...

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 19 points 7 months ago* (1 child)

    You'd be surprised, the courts blocked most of his federal worker firings from DOGE and forced him to renew funding to Medicaid, SNAP, and other federal programs. They've shut down ICE camps before, lots of ongoing cases such as U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi refusing to even hear the DOJ's case for DHS detaining without warrants or hearings unless all 3 highest level DOJ officers testify under oath.

    There has been a lot of capitulation by the courts to the Trump Admin, we haven't been able to prevent ICE building camps for the most part and we weren't able to save USAID, but there has been a lot of resistance as well and I don't think enough credit is given for that.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 20 points 7 months ago

    Everything trump touches turns to shit.

    The dollar is toast.

  • source
  • [–] 17 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    Just begging to be defaced.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 16 points 7 months ago

    Make him sign them all manually.

  • source
  • [–] 16 points 7 months ago

    A pedo stamp on every bill. They really want to lose reserve currency status quickly.

  • source
  • [–] 16 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    These bills are the first to fuel the fireplace during the Greater Depression.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 13 points 7 months ago (8 children)

    Makes me glad I almost never handle cash then.

    Though if I do wind up with money with his name scrawled on it I'm gonna take it somewhere to trade it in with some nice, elaborate (but polite) commentary on the Orange graffiti.

  • source
  • hideshow 8 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (5 children)

    Makes me glad I almost never handle cash then.

    Was going to say...

    Who even carries paper currency on them?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (2 children)

    People who don't necessarily want a public record of their every purchase.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 12 points 7 months ago

    FUCK THE PEDODOLLAR

    RAPEBUCKS ARE GROSS

    Also known as:

    Corruption Cabbage

    Deadbrain Presidents

    TACO Cheddar

    Shitbacks

    Tiny Ones

    Loser Lettuce

  • source
  • [–] 12 points 7 months ago

    this is going to devalue the dollar massively

  • source
  • [–] 12 points 7 months ago

    Will it be the same signature that was on the Epstein letter. I hate that.

    Or will it be the one from his executive orders. I hate that.

  • source
  • [–] 11 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    At the rate things are going, it may be cheaper to burn those bills for warmth this coming winter than it will be to pay the electric/gas/oil bills we're going to experience. Just sayin'.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    18 U.S.C. § 333 says that's a crime punishable by fines, 6 months in prison, or both. I'm sure they'll probably consider that as 1 count for each piece of currency destroyed. Then they'll tack on more prison time for failure to pay the fines you can't afford because the government made your money worthless. Combine that with the 13th amendment loophole, and you've got yourself a cash cow primed and ready to be milked by the private prisons and staffing agencies of the good ol' US of A.

    Ya know, Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" was supposed to have taken in 2026...

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 10 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    It is so tragice for our US cousins that they have a spoiled and soiled baby in the Whitehouse.

    I'd like to think they won't do this (to the rest of the world) again, but he is already in his second term saying that he will be here for longer.

    The world must move away from the Dollar for its own safety.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 10 points 7 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 9 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

    Look, this one has the chimp scribble on it!

  • source
  • [–] 9 points 7 months ago

    Sycophants and psychopaths all the way down

  • source
  • [–] 8 points 7 months ago

    That's one way to destroy the cash economy...

  • source
  • [–] 26 points 7 months ago (5 children)

    I might go all in on contactless payment.

  • source
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] 7 points 7 months ago

    As if the USD wasn't filthy enough...

  • source
  • [–] 7 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    This must be how they plan to sell America on crypto.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • load more comments (1 reply)
    [–] 7 points 7 months ago

    Just DEI already

  • source
  • sure why not just do anything atp

  • source
  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago

    Disgusting. What a narcisist.

  • source
  • [–] 10 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    This whole Iran arc is making me feel like crypto is eventually going to be more legitimate than the US dollar 💀

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • load more comments
    view more: next ›
    13 comments in c/politics@lemmy.world view that post