Over the weekend, on X, Elon Musk was encouraged to apply his cost-cutting approach, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to Fort Knox, the highly secure U.S. Army site that is believed to hold 4,580 tons of gold. The conversation, which involved everyone from the Bitcoin community to current lawmakers, has brought back long-standing questions about the transparency and real contents of the U.S. gold vault.
Musk Sparks The Conversation
The whole conversation started when the financial news site Zerohedge (@zerohedge) mentioned Elon Musk, suggesting, “It would be great if @elonmusk could check inside Fort Knox to make sure the 4,580 tons of US gold is still there. The last time anyone checked was in 1974.”
The tweet, seen by 1.9 million people and liked over 59,000 times, made Musk ask, “Surely it’s checked at least every year?” Zerohedge quickly replied, “It should be. It isn’t.” This sparked a lot of reactions, with people asking when the last full check of the Fort Knox gold took place and if the gold has been sold or used up.
Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) soon joined in, agreeing that a formal inspection should happen and saying, “Nope. Let’s do it.” His father, former Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas), has long called for more transparency about the US gold reserves, even raising concerns in the 1970s about the security and amount of gold in Fort Knox.
The last known visits to Fort Knox were in 1974, when journalists and lawmakers were allowed inside, and in 2017, when former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin briefly visited. However, there’s no public record of a full audit in recent years, which has led to conspiracy theories about whether the gold is still there. If the vault does contain 4,580 tons of gold, it would be worth about $425 billion at today’s market price.
Implications For Bitcoin
The doubt about the gold in Fort Knox quickly turned into a bigger discussion about Bitcoin’s ability to prove ownership. Nate Geraci, President of the ETF Store and Co-Founder of the ETF Institute, pointed out that Bitcoin could solve the issue of verifying ownership. He said, “If only there were a way to verify ownership of an asset,” adding, “If Fort Knox doesn’t actually have the gold, it’s game on for Bitcoin. I believe the gold is there, but this situation shows how Bitcoin allows real-time and foolproof asset verification.”
Others shared similar views. Dennis Porter, CEO of the Satoshi Act Fund, highlighted how Bitcoin is transparent 24/7. He said, “This is another reason why governments should prefer Bitcoin over gold. People can check government Bitcoin holdings anytime. The last full audit of our gold reserves happened over 70 years ago.”
US Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Bitcoin supporter, also backed the idea of using Bitcoin. She said, “Bitcoin solves this issue. A Bitcoin reserve can be checked at any time, 24/7, with just a computer. It’s time to update our reserves.”
Some people even took the conversation to more extreme scenarios, imagining what could happen if a Fort Knox audit found far less gold than reported. Walker, host of THE Bitcoin Podcast, shared a detailed scenario where an audit, inspired by Musk, shows that Fort Knox holds less than 500 tons of gold. He speculated that President Trump might then create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, sparking global competition for Bitcoin and decreasing the value of gold. In this imagined future, countries like China and Russia would try to acquire Bitcoin, causing gold’s value to fall in comparison. According to Walker, gold advocate Peter Schiff would end up in a mental hospital after all of this happens.
Here’s what’s going to happen:
1. Elon pushes Trump to audit Fort Knox.
2. Audit reveals there is less than 500 tons of gold.
3. Trump realizes China and Russia have way more gold than the U.S., but very little Bitcoin.
4. Trump issues EO for Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, citing… pic.twitter.com/hQrAk7vMj1— Walker (@WalkerAmerica) February 16, 2025
Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, responded to Walker’s bold prophecy with measured skepticism, asking: “What a prediction. What % chance would you give of this actually happening?”
Whether these audits come to fruition remains unclear. As of this writing, there has been no official confirmation from the US Treasury or the Department of Defense to open Fort Knox for a comprehensive public review. Still, a Fort Knox audit could have massive implications for the gold price and also potentially for the digital gold, Bitcoin.
At press time, BTC traded at $96,383.
The post “Bitcoin is ready for a big move!” – Musk’s questions about DOGE challenge the value of Fort Knox gold reserves.‘Game On For Bitcoin!’ – Musk’s DOGE Questions Fort Knox Gold Reserves appeared first on The Cryptoplay : All updates about Cryptocurrency worldwide.
