You have watched as bitcoin prices recently flirted with $100,000/BTC after Donald Trump was reelected on enthusiasm that Trump will be an ally for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. In an open letter to Trump in The Wall Street Journal, Andy Kessler asks Trump not to fall for crypto, writing:
Donald Don’t fall for crypto: You raised money from a bunch of guys who buy and trade worthless puka shells and claim that they have all sorts of magical financial powers (beyond money laundering). They are still securities. Your latest harebrained idea is no capital-gains taxes on U.S.-based crypto. Why? If prices collapse, a lot of your constituents will be hurt. Maybe worse than by tariffs.
Kessler begins his letter to Trump with encouragement to protect the dollar, writing:
In a classic Wall Street bull-market move, I went to Atlantic City, N.J., and sat behind Donald Trump at the Mike Tyson vs. Tyrell Biggs heavyweight fight at Trump Plaza on Oct. 16, 1987. I still have the souvenir: a red hat. The market crashed that Monday. Ominous, right? Here are some Donald Dos and Donald Don’ts to avoid a repeat on his watch.
Donald Do protect the dollar: The Dow Jones dropped about 22% on Black Monday after Ronald Reagan’s Treasury Secretary James Baker refused to defend the dollar amid growing trade deficits and West Germany raising interest rates over the weekend.
Presidents get the dollar they wish for. Emulate former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who repeated ad nauseam, “A strong dollar is in the best interest of the United States.” It really is. Have your Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent say it—and mean it—or the stock market may receive a Mike Tyson-like knockout blow. A lower dollar won’t bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.; productivity and artificial intelligence robot-assisted factories will.
To protect the dollar, Donald Trump should point America back toward a gold standard. Look at the history of gold since 1970:
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P.S. Read more about crypto here, and gold here.
