In the weekend exchange for X, Elon Musk was violated to extend his government department (Doge) to one of the most -guarded places in the United States: Fort Knox, the installation of the American army is celebrated for 4580 tons of gold. The discussion, which pulled out the voices, from the Bitcoin community to sitting legislators, bored ten -year questions about the transparency and the actual content of the golden vault of America.
Musk causes a conversation
It all began when the Zerohedge financial aggregator (@zerohedge) marked the musk, suggesting: “It would be great if @elonmusk look at Fort Knox to make sure there are 4580 tons of gold in the US. Last time someone looked, 50 years ago in 1974. “
Tweet, browsed by 1.9 million users and liked over 59,000 times, prompted Musk to ask: “Certainly checked at least every year?” Zerohedge immediately replied: “It should be. It is not. “
From there, the online community swelled reactions, speculations and suggestions. Questions about the last comprehensive deposit audit Fort Knox returned, along with indefinite rumors, that the supply was sold or otherwise exhausted.
Shortly afterwards, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), 62, joined the conversation with the concise support of the formal inspection, noting: “No. Let’s do it, “in response to musk considerations. Paweł’s father, former rep. Ron Paul (R-texas), has a long history of calling for greater transparency around the United States gold reserves. In the seventies, Ron Paul is celebrated for his fear that gold may not be so secure – or as profuse – as for a long time.
The latest known visits to Fort Knox seem to be in 1974, when journalists and members of the congress could go inside, and 2017, when the object briefly opened their doors for the former secretary of the treasury Steve Mnuchin. Despite this, there is no publicly available record of a full, comprehensive audit in recent decades, fueling conspiracy theories that gold may not be in Fort Knox at all.
Estimates suggest that if the vault actually holds 4580 tons of gold, it would be worth around $ 425 billion at current market rates.
Implications for bitcoins
The spark of skepticism around Fort Knox farms quickly introduced a greater conversation about Bitcoin’s verifiability. Nate Geraci, president of the ETF store and co -founder of ETF Institute, he noticed How BTC can eliminate doubts about ownership. “If only there was a technological solution that would allow everyone to verify the property of assets independently,” said Gerciaci, adding: “BTW, if for any reason FT KNOX has no gold … This is absolutely a game for BTC. IMO, there is gold there. But at least now everyone can fully appreciate in real time and reliable verification of assets. “
Others repeated this sentiment. Dennis Porter, CEO and founder of Satoshi Act Fund, emphasized Bitcoin around the clock transparency: “Another reason why the states (and federal government) should prefer bitcoins instead of gold. Society can control the government-bitcoin-shipings 24/7/365. The last extensive audit of our gold reserves took place … over 70 years ago. “
Meanwhile, the US Senator Cynthia Lummis, longtime lawyer Bitcoin, who acts as a Senate chairman of the Banking subcommittee on digital assets under the rule of American President Donald Trump, Underlined The need for a modernized approach: “Bitcoin fixes it. The Bitcoin reserve can be controlled at any time 24/7 using the basic computer. It’s time to improve our reserves. “
Some took the scenario for the imagination of extremes, anticipating potential results if the Fort Knox audit revealed much less gold than officially reported. Walker, the host of the Bitcoin podcast, published a detailed hypothetical chain of events, starting from the audit inspired by Elon Musk, and then the discovery that Fort Knox has “less than 500 tons of gold”.
From there, he speculated that Trump could issue an executive order to create a Bitcoin strategic reserve, causing international competition about bitcoins, while undermining the position of the Gold market. At the end of the broadly spraying script of Walker “China and Russia, they realize that Trump got a jump on them and begins to try to get Bitcoin”, which led to the breakdown of gold in relation to Bitcoins – while golden vocal becomes Peter Schiff, as he put it Walker, “admitted to a psychiatric hospital”.
Here’s what happens:
1. Elon pushes Trump to control Fort Knox.
2. The audit reveals that there are less than 500 tons of gold.
3. Trump realizes that China and Russia have much more gold than the US, but very tiny bitcoins.
4. Trump spends EO for the Bitcoin strategic reserve, citing … pic.twitter.com/hqrak7vmj1– Walker⚡️ (@Walkeramerica) February 16, 2025
Eric Balchunas, an analyst at ETF Bloomberg, responded to the bold prophecy of Walker with skepticism measured, asking: “What a forecast. What % chance would you actually happen? “
Whether these audits will come is unclear. At the time of writing this text, there was no official confirmation from the US Treasury or the Department of Defense to open Fort Knox for a comprehensive public review. Despite this, Fort Knox audit can have huge implications for gold price, as well as potentially for digital gold, Bitcoin.
During the BTC press it traded for USD 96,383.
A distinguished painting created from Dall.e, chart from tradingview.com
