Investors are flocking to safe-haven assets like Bitcoin and gold as the US national debt approaches a record $38 trillion.
Currently standing at $37.9 trillion, America’s debt has been climbing at an astonishing rate — $69,890 every second, or nearly $4.2 million each minute over the past year, according to the US Congress Joint Economic Committee’s (JEC) debt dashboard.
This adds up to a staggering $6 billion per day, surpassing the annual GDP of more than 30 countries, according to Worldometer data.
US Representative Keith Self said on Friday that the debt tally is set to surpass $38 trillion in weeks and possibly even $50 trillion within a decade, urging for imminent action to be taken.
“Congress must act now—demand fiscal responsibility from your leaders before the gradual slide becomes a sudden collapse.”
At current rates, the US is expected to surpass $38 trillion in 20 days.
Investors Turn to Bitcoin and Gold
Last week, JPMorgan highlighted Bitcoin and gold as the go-to “debasement trades” amid growing uncertainty over the US dollar.
Bitcoin surged to a record $125,506 on Saturday, while gold reached a fresh high of $3,920 on Sunday. The fixed supply and decentralized nature of Bitcoin have drawn increasing institutional interest. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, once a Bitcoin skeptic, said in January that Bitcoin could hit $700,000 as fears of currency debasement grow.
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio also recommended in July that investors allocate 15% of their portfolios to hard assets like Bitcoin or gold, citing their “best return-to-risk ratio.”
Global Implications
Dalio noted that the US is not alone: other Western nations, including the UK, face a similar “debt doom loop,” with their currencies likely to underperform against Bitcoin and gold, which he called “effective diversifiers.”
According to Reuters, citing the Institute of International Finance, global debt reached a record $337.7 trillion by the end of Q2, driven by increased quantitative easing and a weaker US dollar.
Trump’s Efforts to Tackle US Debt
Reducing federal spending and the deficit has been a policy focus under the Trump administration. For a period, Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined the Department of Government Efficiency to help cut costs, saving $214 billion.
In July, Trump signed the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” aimed at saving over $1.6 trillion in federal spending. Musk left after 130 days as a special government employee, amid a cooling of his previously strong relationship with the president.
Despite these efforts, the legislation pushed US debt past $37 trillion and is projected to cost $3.4 trillion over the next decade.
