Former President Donald Trump launched a harsh round of attacks against Bitcoin today, calling it a “scam against the dollar” that U.S. regulators should take action to monitor.
“Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam,” Trump said. “I don’t like it because it’s another currency competing against the dollar … I want the dollar to be the currency of the world. That’s what I’ve always said.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has voiced a negative opinion about Bitcoin.
The price of the crypto fell by about $10,000 in 2019 after the then-president said he wasn’t a “fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”
Former Trump administration National Security Advisor John Bolton also said today the ex-president “on several occasions” spoke to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin about outlawing cryptocurrency.
While many of America’s wealthiest are enthusiastic about Bitcoin, Trump is far from the only billionaire to voice skepticism or downright opposition to the crypto.
Warren Buffet has long criticized Bitcoin, a sentiment recently echoed by Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger who called it “disgusting” and bad for civilization.
“I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists,” Munger said during a May panel. “I think the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization.”