US National Debt Nears $38 Trillion, Rising $6 Billion Daily

Investors are turning to safe-haven assets, such as Bitcoin and gold, as the US national debt is nearing a record-breaking $38 trillion.

America’s national debt, currently $37.9 trillion, is rising by $69,890 per second — or nearly $4.2 million per minute — over the last year, according to the US Congress Joint Economic Committee’s (JEC) debt dashboard.

That equates to a staggering $6 billion per day — larger than the gross domestic product of over 30 countries, according to data from Worldometer.

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 flock to Bitcoin and gold 

Last week, JPMorgan touted Bitcoin (BTC) and gold as the “debasement trade” amid increased uncertainty in the dollar.

It came as Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $125,506 on Saturday, while gold hit a fresh high of $3,920 on Sunday.

Bitcoin’s fixed supply and decentralized nature have drawn increased institutional attention, with the likes of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink — once a Bitcoin critic — stating in January that Bitcoin could hit $700,000 on currency debasement fears.

Ray Dalio, the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, recommended in July that investors allocate 15% of their portfolios in hard assets like Bitcoin or gold to optimize for the “best return-to-risk ratio.” 

It’s not just America, says Dalio

At the time, Dalio said other Western nations like the UK would face the same “debt doom loop” issue and that their currencies would continue to underperform relative to Bitcoin and gold, which he described as an “effective diversifier.”

Reuters reported late last month that global debt grew to a record high of $337.7 trillion by the end of the second quarter, fueled by more quantitative easing and a softer US dollar, it said, citing data from the Institute of International Finance.