GOP Plans $100 Billion Backstop For Bitcoin Owners

Mediaite reports:

Chris Hayes broke down a plan by Republican legislators to transfer billions of dollars of taxpayer money to owners of Bitcoin in exchange for their holdings. At issue is a bill introduced by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) that, if enacted, would require the U.S. Treasury to buy one million Bitcoins over five years and be held for at least 20 years. As of Friday night, Bitcoin was trading at $100,000, which means purchasing that many Bitcoins at that rate would cost $100 billion.

Hayes began Friday’s edition of All In on MSNBC with a monologue noting that Republican lawmakers’ campaigns received a windfall of money from crypto evangelists who are now looking to cash in on their successful bet. Come January, the GOP will control both houses of Congress and the White House. President-elect Donald Trump previously called cryptocurrency a “scam,” but has now embraced the asset.

Read the full article. Watch the clip and you’ll see an excited Lummis wave a copy of her bill, calling it a “present for President Trump.” Hayes calls the bill an “enormous heist” and an “explicit bailout” of bitcoin holders should the price plummet.