The proposal will be discussed at its April 2025 shareholder meeting. Meanwhile, El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings generated impressive unrealized gains, though the IMF is still very critical about the nation’s Bitcoin policies. In the U.S., President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal for a national Bitcoin reserve attracted some skepticism from financial experts but is supported by his pro-crypto appointments, including David Sacks and Scott Bessent.
Amazon Urged to Consider Bitcoin
The National Center for Public Policy Research, which is a Washington, DC-based think tank advocating for free markets, urged Amazon to consider adopting a Bitcoin treasury strategy. This proposal is set to be discussed at the company’s April 2025 shareholder meeting.
In its letter to Amazon, the think tank criticized the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as a flawed measure of inflation, and suggested the true inflation rate might be double the reported figure of 4.95%. They argued that this inflation severely erodes Amazon's $88 billion in cash and short-term equivalents and proposed Bitcoin as a hedge against this risk.
The letter also pointed out that as of Dec. 6, 2024, Bitcoin's price rose by 131% over the past year, vastly outperforming corporate bonds. Over a five-year period, Bitcoin achieved a 1,246% increase, which was far more than the returns on corporate bonds. To safeguard shareholder value, the think tank recommended Amazon allocate at least 5% of its assets to Bitcoin. It even referred to MicroStrategy’s success as a case study.
MicroStrategy, which is led by Michael Saylor, has been a pioneer in adopting a Bitcoin treasury strategy, and it also inspired other organizations to follow suit. The company’s Bitcoin holdings are now valued at more than $40 billion, yielding a profit of about $17 billion.
MicroStrategy Bitcoin holdings (Source: MSTR Tracker)
Mining company MARA also embraced this strategy, and recently completed a $1 billion convertible note offering at 0% interest in November of 2024. The company used the proceeds to buy 6,474 Bitcoin. Artificial Intelligence firm Genius Group announced its Bitcoin treasury strategy in the same month, and started with a purchase of 110 Bitcoin at an average price of $90,932 per coin.
El Salvador's BTC Bet Pays Off
It is not just companies enjoying the fruits of Bitcoin’s labour. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele also celebrated the country's unrealized gains from its Bitcoin investments after the crypto recently surpassed $100,000 for the first time.
On Dec. 5, Bitcoin reached this historic milestone, which caused widespread excitement in the crypto community. By responding to a request from a crypto-focused account on social media, Bukele shared some details about El Salvador’s Bitcoin portfolio, and revealed that the country spent close to $270 million on Bitcoin since its adoption. Itsh unrealized gains now exceed $333 million.
El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender on Sept. 7 of 2021, after the implementation of its Bitcoin Law. The government made its first purchase of 200 Bitcoin on the eve of the law’s enactment and has since continued to buy Bitcoin. In November of 2022, Bukele announced a dollar-cost averaging strategy, and committed to buy one Bitcoin daily. According to the Nayib Tracker, the country now holds 6,180 Bitcoin, which was bought at an average price of $44,739.88.
The adoption of Bitcoin brought economic benefits beyond just investment gains. The country also reported increased tourism as a result of its pro-Bitcoin policies. However, these developments have not swayed the International Monetary Fund, which has consistently urged El Salvador to reconsider its Bitcoin strategy.
In January of 2022, the IMF recommended stopping the recognition of Bitcoin as legal tender due to financial stability risks despite acknowledging the potential for increased financial inclusion. More recently, in October 2024, the IMF reiterated its call to scale back Bitcoin policies, and advised the government to narrow the scope of the Bitcoin Law and limit public sector exposure to the cryptocurrency.
While critics are still skeptical, El Salvador's Bitcoin strategy continues to attract attention for its successes.
Trump’s Bitcoin Vision Draws Skepticism
On the other hand, former U.S. financial officials are voicing their concerns over President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to establish a national Bitcoin reserve. In a Bloomberg op-ed on Dec. 6, former New York Federal Reserve Bank President Bill Dudley shared his skepticism about the benefits of the U.S. government holding cryptocurrency, even after Bitcoin surpassed $100,000.
Dudley argued that Bitcoin does not share the same qualities of traditional money, due to issues like wallet access and transaction inefficiency. He speculated that the proposal might be aimed at driving Bitcoin prices higher rather than actually creating value for the government. He also warned people about the potential fiscal risks like increased debt service costs or inflation.
Dudley suggested that Trump should instead focus on regulatory measures to protect consumers and ensure stability in the crypto industry. He recommended legislation to define whether tokens are currencies or securities, ensure stablecoins are fully backed, and prevent their misuse for criminal activities.
The Bitcoin proposal attracted some criticism from other well known people in the industry as well, including former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. He even went so far as to call the plan "crazy" and suggested it was a move to keep special interest groups happy.
Despite these criticisms, Trump maintained his stance on crypto after he pledged during the Bitcoin 2024 conference to stop the sale of BTC seized from illicit activities. His ally, Senator Cynthia Lummis, also announced plans to propose legislation for the U.S. government to purchase and hold 1 million Bitcoin for two decades.
After his election victory, Trump started creating a more pro-crypto administration by nominating former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to replace Gary Gensler as head of the SEC. It is still unclear just how these appointments will influence the proposed Bitcoin reserve.
David Sacks Joins Trump Team
President-elect Donald Trump also appointed David Sacks, a technologist and former PayPal executive, as his top advisor on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. Sacks is a strong supporter of Bitcoin and digital assets, and praised Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and a tool for separating money from state control. In a conversation with Anthony Pompliano, Sacks compared Bitcoin’s potential to the historical separation of church and state, and envisioned a future where money and government might also operate independently.
The crypto community widely celebrated Sacks’ appointment, and considers it as a positive step toward clearer regulatory frameworks for digital assets. Sacks’ pro-crypto stance seems to align with Trump’s broader signals of support for cryptocurrency during his campaign.
Sacks is a major backer of Solana and crypto-focused investment firm Multicoin Capital. Despite market challenges, including the collapse of FTX in 2022, Sacks still maintained his confidence in Solana, and previously predicted it could surpass Ethereum in market capitalization and utility.
Sacks joins an administration that is poised to embrace cryptocurrency after Trump’s nomination of Scott Bessent, a pro-crypto hedge fund manager, as Treasury Secretary. Bessent described the crypto economy as a permanent fixture in the financial world and a representation of economic freedom.
