Elon Musk, the billionaire behind Tesla, has been voicing concerns over America’s escalating national debt, which currently stands at a staggering $35 trillion. His warnings come as Bitcoin’s price surges, outpaced by Dogecoin, the meme-based cryptocurrency that has flourished under Musk’s support.
Specific criticism from Musk was directed to the excessive government expenditure that is inching America closer to bankruptcy. These comments were made on the social media platform X, which Musk acquired and rebranded from Twitter. This worrying level of the U.S. debt was also a topic of discussion for Kentucky senator Rand Paul, a Bitcoin supporter, who has deemed the current deficit level unsustainable.
Paul made waves in 2015 by being the first to accept Bitcoin campaign donations for his Republican candidacy, a trend followed by Trump and other possible 2024 candidates. The surge in bitcoin prices has also led some to entertain the idea that it could potentially offset the US debt.
The U.S. national debt has dramatically risen in recent years due to Covid-19 and lockdown stimulus policies causing out-of-control inflation and a swift increase in Federal Reserve interest rates.
Musk has been advocating for the Department of Government Efficiency, nicknamed DOGE, a reference to Dogecoin, which he believes could cut $2 trillion from the U.S. spending. Dogecoin’s connection with Doge has seen the cryptocurrency’s price double over the last month.