How Bitcoin Is Giving The USA and Russia a Game to Play That Both Can Win

The incoming second Donald Trump administration has extensive plans to cement US leadership in developing blockchain cryptocurrencies and delivering their products to markets.

Meanwhile, Russia is using Bitcoin to conduct commerce outside the traditional finance channels in the face of international sanctions.

While these developments certainly bear strategic adversarial overtones, the way Bitcoin changes the equation shows great promise. Cryptocurrency provides the world powers with a peaceful competition over technology.

It turns out that with Bitcoin, even atomic-era sovereign partners/rivals can settle differences by using money, like civilized people.

Russians Gain Ground in Bitcoin Race

The United States and Russia have long shared common interests, especially since allying against the Axis powers in World War II. They include a common interest in atomic safety, nuclear non-proliferation, counter-terrorism, and space colonization.

They are also both secular states with constitutions that guarantee freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Meanwhile, both are majority Christian nations, with about two-thirds of each country identifying as a person of faith in a traditional belief system.

While 20th-century disputes involving the US and Russia involved armed conflict, the Obama-Trump era has focused on de-escalation, demilitarization, and win-win outcomes.

That includes strategic offensive arms reductions, economic tariffs on Russian imports, and trade sanctions against Russian financial institutions.

Bitcoin adds another domain that deescalates conflict and harnesses it to technological advancement and commercial rivalry.

Trump Promises US Will Take The Lead

A month after his landmark election victory in November, Trump reiterated his promise that under the new administration, the US “will do something great with crypto.”

“Because we don’t want China or anybody else— others are embracing it, and we want to be the head,” the incoming president told CNBC’s Jim Cramer. “We want to be the head of AI. We’re gonna be ahead of AI.”

“And we’ve got to produce a tremendous amount of electricity. And you know that,” he explained. “It’s unbelievable when you think that we need more than twice what we already have. But we’ll be able to do it.”

The way Trump sees it, in an ideal world, all the remaining Bitcoin would be mined in the United States.

Bottom Line for Investors

If you thought Redditors racing for Bitcoin drove its price up to incredible proportions, imagine what will happen as sovereign world powers join the fray.

Institutional adoption on Wall Street with custody products and ETFs supported Bitcoin’s price growth over the last four-year cycle. Sovereign adoption is here to support its price growth next.