Vance: United States should use bitcoin as an advantage in rivalry with China

(Patria) - China's caution toward bitcoin should encourage the United States to embrace the world's largest cryptocurrency and build its strategic advantage in digital assets, said U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Reuters reported.

As the White House insists on a review of crypto policy, Vance said bitcoin will be a strategically important asset for the United States in the coming decade.

Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, Vance praised President Donald Trump's March executive order creating a strategic bitcoin reserve with tokens already owned by the government.

Trading and mining of cryptocurrencies has been banned in China since 2021.

"The People's Republic of China does not like bitcoin. Well, we should ask ourselves why that is? Why is our biggest adversary such an adversary of bitcoin? And if the communist Republic of China is moving away from bitcoin, then perhaps the United States should turn to bitcoin," he said.

Digital assets have seen a resurgence under President Donald Trump, who during the campaign attracted money from the crypto industry by promising to be a "crypto president."

In his first week in office, Trump ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency working group to propose regulations on digital assets.

In March, he hosted a group of crypto company executives at the White House.

Congress is considering legislation to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. The crypto industry has lobbied lawmakers to pass laws creating new rules for digital assets and spent more than $119 million supporting pro-crypto congressional candidates in last year's elections.