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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(133,832 posts) Wed Feb 4, 2026, 09:13 PM 13 hrs ago

Bitcoin sinks after Treasury Secretary Bessent says US government can't tell banks to bail out crypto

Source: Yahoo Finance

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 2% on Wednesday to around $73,000 per token after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the US government would not bail out the cryptocurrency.

In a heated back-and-forth during a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Bessent was asked if the US Treasury had the authority to buy bitcoin or other cryptos.

"I do not have the authority to do that, and as chair of FSOC, I do not have that authority," Bessent stated.

The decline on Wednesday was also fueled by the broader selling pressure in markets and a warning from notable investor Michael Burry that a sustained decline in bitcoin's price could "set in motion a death spiral leading to massive value destruction."

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-sinks-after-treasury-secretary-bessent-says-us-government-cant-tell-banks-to-bail-out-crypto-195504406.html

Nor should we. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Bessent's boss would pressure him to bail it out.

18 replies

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Highlight:

Bitcoin sinks after Treasury Secretary Bessent says US government can't tell banks to bail out crypto (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin 13 hrs ago OP

No they shouldn't bailout that pseudo pyramid scheme. lostincalifornia 13 hrs ago #1

I never understood the value of the record of a transaction ClaudetteCC 12 hrs ago #4

Sure, it's just numbers in the cloud, but .... reACTIONary 12 hrs ago #8

etherium has better use cases than bitcoin ClaudetteCC 12 hrs ago #9

ETF's? At least.. reACTIONary 11 hrs ago #14

You forgot drugs and child porn.... nt Shipwack 11 hrs ago #10

I stick with what I know.... reACTIONary 11 hrs ago #12

So they hid all the QE in crypto bucolic_frolic 12 hrs ago #2

It seems the price of 'homes' even with inflation ClaudetteCC 12 hrs ago #5

Good point bucolic_frolic 4 hrs ago #16

Sounds like dweller 12 hrs ago #3

Crypto is simply canned air. It has no intrinsic value. All it will take is for one large holder to sell off a flashman13 12 hrs ago #6

Bitcoin has fallen 43% since its $126,000 all-time high back in October progree 12 hrs ago #7

Well... OldBaldy1701E 11 hrs ago #11

HA HA. pansypoo53219 11 hrs ago #13

"value destruction" of cryptocurrency has a nice ring to it. (nt) pat_k 8 hrs ago #15

that means they will. Javaman 2 hrs ago #17

That's the only reason bitcoin and other crypto started climbing after Trump took office. ChicagoTeamster 1 hr ago #18

lostincalifornia

(5,092 posts)

1. No they shouldn't bailout that pseudo pyramid scheme.

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 09:17 PM

13 hrs ago

ClaudetteCC

(156 posts)

4. I never understood the value of the record of a transaction

Reply to lostincalifornia (Reply #1)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 09:30 PM

12 hrs ago

While capped at 21m it is really an electronic form of 'ledger paper.' Yes, I get hashes and blocks and chains of blocks and all that but I just don't see a conversion to dollars from that other than 'scarcity.'

reACTIONary

(7,055 posts)

8. Sure, it's just numbers in the cloud, but ....

Reply to ClaudetteCC (Reply #4)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 09:58 PM

12 hrs ago

.... it has a couple of killer-app use cases: Money laundering and ransom payments!

ClaudetteCC

(156 posts)

9. etherium has better use cases than bitcoin

Reply to reACTIONary (Reply #8)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 10:07 PM

12 hrs ago

reACTIONary

(7,055 posts)

14. ETF's? At least..

Reply to ClaudetteCC (Reply #9)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 10:57 PM

11 hrs ago

... trading cards are rather benign. Not good for supporting criminal enterprises.

Shipwack

(3,028 posts)

10. You forgot drugs and child porn.... nt

Reply to reACTIONary (Reply #8)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 10:26 PM

11 hrs ago

reACTIONary

(7,055 posts)

12. I stick with what I know....

Reply to Shipwack (Reply #10)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 10:44 PM

11 hrs ago

.... Oh, wait! Let me take that back!

bucolic_frolic

(54,449 posts)

2. So they hid all the QE in crypto

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 09:21 PM

12 hrs ago

In 2008 it was hidden in the price of homes. But a lot of people will implode if crypto falls. Massive value destruction indeed.

ClaudetteCC

(156 posts)

5. It seems the price of 'homes' even with inflation

Reply to bucolic_frolic (Reply #2)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 09:36 PM

12 hrs ago

have currently (in the USA) far exceeded the 2008 price.

bucolic_frolic

(54,449 posts)

16. Good point

Reply to ClaudetteCC (Reply #5)

Thu Feb 5, 2026, 06:17 AM

4 hrs ago

There's plenty of slush fund to go around. Imagine the price of either asset - housing or crypto - without the sponge effect of the other.

dweller

(27,989 posts)

3. Sounds like

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 09:26 PM

12 hrs ago

They were depending on a bailout … too bad so sad

✌🏻

flashman13

(2,210 posts)

6. Crypto is simply canned air. It has no intrinsic value. All it will take is for one large holder to sell off a

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 09:51 PM

12 hrs ago

significant amount of coins all at once. That will cause the next two holders to sell while the price is still high. Next thing you know there is a mass stampede for the door. In very short order prices collapse and it all becomes worthless. That would probably be okay, but because of lax regulation, it is possible to collateralize real world loans with bitcoin. If bitcoin goes south, all those loans go south too. It's effectively what happened in 1929 all over again.