Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, issued a stark warning this week: if U.S. lawmakers don’t get the national debt under control, Bitcoin could supplant the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
Crypto influencer Wendy O weighed in with skepticism: “Bitcoin will never be a reserve currency because of its volatility. But it will be desired. A stablecoin… yes.”
Meanwhile, HODL15Capital echoed Armstrong’s concern from a different angle: “Bitcoin has no top because fiat printing will never end.”
Elon Musk retweeted the post and replied with an American flag emoji.
“Interest payments already consume 25% of all government revenue. If the massive deficit spending continues, there will only be money for interest payments and nothing else.”
“In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people.”
The backdrop to this discourse is a troubling fiscal trajectory. According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, the interest on the federal debt alone will approach $1 trillion this year and could double by the mid-2030s.
Rising entitlement costs, pandemic-era spending, and bipartisan reluctance to raise taxes or cut popular programs have all contributed to ballooning deficits.
The dollar’s position as the global reserve currency has long been underpinned by the scale and perceived stability of the U.S. economy and deep and liquid Treasury markets.
Replacing that infrastructure with Bitcoin would require seismic shifts in monetary policy, financial regulation, and sovereign behavior.
Armstrong’s warning is part of a broader discourse about financial discipline and the long-term viability of the current monetary system. It also highlights the belief among Bitcoin advocates that decentralized assets will increasingly function as alternatives to fiat currencies if inflationary and fiscal pressures continue unchecked.
For now, Bitcoin is unlikely to become a true reserve currency in the near term. But as America’s debt burden rises and confidence in traditional monetary policy falters, the idea is no longer unthinkable. Armstrong and Musk believe the hyperbitcoinization clock is ticking.
