(Kitco News) – While many analysts are focused on central banks stepping up their gold purchases, what has remained under the radar is their official interest in Bitcoin. This year will be all about revelations of covert Bitcoin buying by sovereign states, according to Gary Cadone, CEO and founder of Cardone Digital Ventures.
Cadone participated in a panel discussion with Michelle Makori, Lead Anchor and Editor-in-Chief at Kitco News, and Gareth Soloway, Chief Market Strategist at VerifiedInvesting.com.
Soloway pointed out that central banks have been buying gold at near record-high levels, which has been driving prices higher. He described central banks as 'smart money' pushing this narrative.
“The people with their finger on the money printer are buying gold. That's one of the reasons why I've been bullish for the last six to 12 months on gold, and it hasn't broken out until now,” he told Kitco News. “[Central banks] know what's going to happen — the economy will tank, they're going to have to print more. It's going to create more inflation. And they want to back what they can with physical gold, silver, rare earths, and eventually Bitcoin.”
However, Bitcoin will be taking on a bigger role as a diversifier for sovereign states. In fact, central banks may have already been secretly buying Bitcoin as a reserve asset, Cardone speculated.
"This year, we will have an announcement that a sovereign has already not only put Bitcoin on the balance sheet, but they are continuing to buy just like they are with gold. They're looking for the same charts that I looked at and go, ‘these are war charts, possible depression charts.’ This is a game changer," he noted.
Turkey is in a great position to be a Bitcoin buyer, Cardone said. For his full list of possible countries already stacking up on Bitcoin, watch the video above.
Cardone's prediction comes at the same time as whistleblower Edward Snowden suggested that this year there will be a revelation that another national government has been secretly purchasing Bitcoin without prior public disclosure.
"Prediction: A national government will be revealed this year to have been buying Bitcoin—the modern replacement for monetary gold—without having disclosed that fact publicly," Snowden posted on X.
At the same time, the Bitcoin rally is showing that El Salvador’s journey with the cryptocurrency is starting to pay off in a significant way. After becoming the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, El Salvador’s Bitcoin treasury is sitting on $85 million in unrealized profit from holdings it started acquiring more than two years ago, according to the Nayib Bukele Portfolio Tracker website. This is based on BTC prices hitting a new all-time high above $72,000 on March 11. Since then, Bitcoin has reached another record high of just above $73,700.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele joked on X that he is still waiting for mainstream media to recognize the country's gains on Bitcoin. The country holds 2,381 Bitcoins in its treasury at an average price of $44,292.
+ #BTC revenue from our passport program
+ Revenue from converting #BTC to USD for local businesses
+ #BTC from mining
+ #BTC revenue from government services https://t.co/O1sjKoJRiq— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 11, 2024
‘Charts Point to War’
The reason why gold and Bitcoin hit new record highs at the same time last week was because investors are in a fake market based on a monopoly game, Cadone explained.
"I think we're going to war. You look at all the charts on everything, they look like war charts to me," Cardone said. "We have a fake market. We just have to admit this is a fake market; it's a monopoly game. You can say we're not releasing funds into the world, but we are indeed releasing large amounts of money. We're producing fiat."
For Cardone’s warning on what this means for geopolitics and the role U.S. plays, watch the video above.
Wars mean more money printing, Cardone added. “We're at war. It’s happening in at least four countries I know of. It’s machinery, equipment, and that is printing,” he stated. “This is a Ponzi scheme. We're just moving things around on the chessboard. This is what gold, silver, and Bitcoin were established for.”
Cardone and Soloway also shared their Bitcoin and gold price forecasts, breaking them down into the short, medium, and long-term horizons. For their price calls, watch the video above.
