2026-10-03 · contested story

Strive CEO: Bitcoin Could ‘Go to Infinity' as Dollar Debt Crisis Breaks

The literal news hook — Strive CEO Matt Cole telling Bloomberg that 'probably no Bitcoin price is too high' until the US debt crisis breaks and that 'Bitcoin can effectively go to infinity versus the dollar' — appears in only one of the 37 scraped sources: a CoinMarketCap repost (Source 1, tagged Right/Charlie Kirk). The Bitcoin-as-debt-hedge thesis itself is carried almost entirely by crypto-adjacent and right-leaning business outlets: TheStreet (Source 3) relays Cole's claim that 'the money is broken, the dollar is broken,' Bitcoin Magazine's podcast (Source 2) gives Cole an hour to argue for 'hyperbitcoinization,' and The Motley Fool (Source 4) relays Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's proposal to back the dollar with Bitcoin. The overwhelming majority of the corpus — roughly 30 of 37 sources across all leans — is instead coverage of the underlying premise: the US national debt crossing $40 trillion in August 2026. On that factual anchor, Left (CNN, NPR, Guardian, Al Jazeera, American Prospect), Center (Reuters, AP, CNBC, Bloomberg, Axios, WSJ) and Right (Fox Business, National Review, The Dispatch, RealClearMarkets) are remarkably convergent on the raw numbers while diverging sharply on cause and remedy.

How each side frames it

left
"The money is broken. The dollar is broken and people are losing trust in income solutions"
"Several indicators suggest that financial markets are overdue for a collapse, politely known as a correction."
"The trouble with Trump's deficits is mainly their composition—tax cuts for the rich, and an insane military buildup."
"Our current fiscal trajectory is plainly unsustainable, and that's the best-case scenario"
"His plan has the confident energy of a cryptocurrency exchange CEO recommending more cryptocurrency adoption. Funny how that works: When your favorite tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."
center
"Gross U.S. debt has surpassed $40 trillion, a new milestone in the country's struggle to control its finances."
"doubling under Trump and Biden"
"The risk is a vicious cycle: Bigger interest bills add to deficits and borrowing needs, putting even more bonds into a market already awash in debt."
"Forty trillion dollars of debt doesn't exist solely on the government's ledgers; it is felt throughout the economy and finds its way to the pocketbooks of people one way or another"
"the government paid the highest auction yields on 10-year notes since 2007 and 30-year bonds since 2001."
right
"We think Bitcoin can effectively go to infinity versus the dollar."
"Republican president, Republican Congress, Republican policies—all important factors, sure, but let us not shortchange the influence of Republican stupidity and Republican cowardice."
"The markets are screaming at us about a disaster, but it's not the one promoted by the Post"
"probably no Bitcoin price is too high"
"Almost 80 percent of debt is from laws enacted by bipartisan majorities. Only 12 percent comes from legislation passed overwhelmingly by Democrats, and 8 percent from laws passed by Republicans."

What each side left out

The right left out — covered by the The Motley Fool & Reuters
The left left out — covered by the TheStreet & Bitcoin Magazine
The center left out — covered by the TheStreet & CoinMarketCap/Kirk
The left left out — covered by the RealClearMarkets
The right left out — covered by the The American Prospect

What's actually true?

[verified] Total US public debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, hitting ~$40.047 trillion as of August 18, 2026
[unverified] Matt Cole (Strive CEO) told Bloomberg 'probably no Bitcoin price is too high' until the US debt crisis breaks and 'Bitcoin can effectively go to infinity versus the dollar'
[verified] US debt more than doubled in less than a decade, from $19.95 trillion in January 2017
[verified] Interest payments on the debt have surpassed defense spending, now exceeding ~$1.2 trillion annually and ranking as the second-largest federal expense
[verified] The yield on 30-year Treasurys reached a 19-year high / highest since 2001, raising borrowing costs economy-wide
[verified] The debt is projected to reach $50 trillion within roughly six years (by ~2029)
[verified] US total gross debt-to-GDP ratio is approximately 120-126%, near levels last seen during WWII
[contested] Fiat currency debasement runs at roughly 6%-7% per year, which money markets fail to keep pace with (per Matt Cole)

The narrative clash

Whether the $40 trillion debt is an imminent crisis or an overblown, already-priced narrative
Left: On our current path, we're going to be at $50 trillion in just six years... We're really putting our economy and our country's future in jeopardy.
Right: the pesky markets are saying $40 trillion will be as easy to pay off as $5.8 trillion was
Whether Bitcoin can replace/escape the dollar as debt mounts
Left: Bitcoin adds a unique wrinkle: volatility. The cryptocurrency has experienced drawdowns of more than 70% multiple times in its history.
Right: We think Bitcoin can effectively go to infinity versus the dollar.
Primary driver of the debt — tax cuts vs. spending
Left: The trouble with Trump's deficits is mainly their composition—tax cuts for the rich, and an insane military buildup.
Right: major tax cuts are responsible for 37 percentage points of debt-to-GDP, net discretionary spending increases and major Medicare expansions are responsible for 33 percentage points

37 sources analyzed

Charlie Kirk The Damage Report TheStreet The Motley Fool CNN The Center Square WSJ The New Republic prospect.org The Dispatch Axios The Telegraph Reuters NPR The Washington Post CNBC Barron's Bloomberg.com fox11online.com The Guardian 10TV PBS AP News RealClearMarkets CNN Reason Fox Business CBS News Fox News USA Today New York Post Reason aljazeera.com WJLA PBS NewsHour National Review The New Republic

Perspectivity reads the coverage — not just who published it.

Read the full interactive analysis →