US National Debt Crosses $39 Trillion: What Does It Mean For Bitcoin?

The US national debt crossed the $39 trillion threshold, adding $1 trillion in roughly five months since breaching $38 trillion in late October 2025.

Economist Peter Schiff highlighted that debt has grown by $2.8 trillion since President Trump took office 14 months ago. He warned that war spending, rising interest rates, and a potential recession could push the total to $50 trillion before Trump leaves office.

Meanwhile, the Peterson Foundation projects that at the current growth rate, the US debt could reach $40 trillion before this fall’s elections.

“America’s high and rising debt matters because it threatens our economic future,” the article read.

The Congressional Budget Office, in its Budget and Economic Outlook for 2026 to 2036, forecast that the deficit could rise to $1.9 trillion by 2026 and to $3.1 trillion by 2036. 

“Under the assumptions that govern CBO’s baseline, the federal government is projected to borrow an additional $26 trillion from the end of 2025 to the end of 2036. That borrowing would raise debt held by the public to $56 trillion, or 120 percent of GDP, by the end of the period,” the report noted.

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Against this backdrop, Bitcoin advocates argue that rising debt strengthens the case for “hard money,” assets with fixed supply, such as gold and Bitcoin, which may better preserve purchasing power compared to fiat currencies.

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Higher debt forces central banks to print money and keep rates low, weakening fiat currencies. Bitcoin’s fixed supply makes it attractive as a hedge against currency debasement. However, the relationship isn’t immediate.

Short-term price action can diverge significantly from this macro thesis.