• Ripple CTO David Schwartz backed the conversion of US Treasuries into BTC.

  • Schwartz also defended Bitcoin’s limited supply, BTC halving, and PoW.

  • Sen. Lummis said that the Trump administration will convert US Treasuries into BTC in 5 years.

Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David “JoelKatz” Schwartz, recently engaged in a debate on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) regarding Bitcoin halving and the potential conversion of U.S. Treasuries into Bitcoin. Senator Cynthia Lummis recently stated at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference that the Trump administration would convert excess reserves at the 12 Federal Reserve banks into Bitcoin over five years.

Paul Vigna, author of “The Age of Cryptocurrencies,” criticized the concept of converting treasuries into Bitcoin, considering BTC’s extreme volatility. Another X user questioned the practicality of using the blockchain when transaction fees rise with network congestion. The user also questioned whether using a third party in such a situation will result in the loss of all the benefits of using blockchain technology.

No matter how many times you say it, it won't stop being completely ridiculous. Limiting the supply of something is clearly and obviously not market manipulation because it does not manipulate the market. It is clearly and obviously not fraud because there is no deception.

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) July 29, 2024

Schwartz responded that using the Bitcoin blockchain or any third party depends entirely on the user and their spending limits. He noted that while using the blockchain allows for changing the beneficial owner of bitcoins, a similar benefit can be achieved through a centralized custodian. Schwartz added:

“The beauty of bitcoin is that you can always use the blockchain if you want and would only use something else if it was better for your particular application. The blockchain sets the *minimum* quality and service you get, not the maximum.”

An X user emphasized that the Bitcoin halving cycle, limited supply, and the Proof-Of-Work (PoW) is a Ponzi scheme that artificially inflates the price of the digital asset using manipulation. Schwartz said “limiting the supply of something is clearly and obviously not market manipulation because it does not manipulate the market,” emphasizing that there is no deception and everything is public.

The user also termed the ETH Merge and ETH staking as “abomination” adding that the world’s second-largest blockchain is engaged in manipulation of prices as well. “None of this is even remotely close to true,” Schwartz said while terming the X user’s theory as “nonsensical.”

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