Elon Musk, through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has set out on its next mission: finding out if Fort Knox holds the 4,580 tons of gold it claims is in its possession. Elon Musk commented on the development after a user on X asked about the US gold reserves.
In his response, Musk mentioned that the audit is usually carried out every year. The US Treasury claims to have $458 billion worth of gold, but the last time anyone saw the cache was in 2017. Before then, the last time was in 2974, after journalists were allowed access into the vault after rumors of missing gold. The vault is one of the most secure on earth, with its security mechanism shared among different people.
Elon Musk goes after Fort Knox as Senator Lummis preaches Bitcoin
Elon Musk’s statement caused a stir on Twitter, with Rand Paul calling for an official audit. Senator Cynthia Lummis also used the opportunity to preach her favorite mantra, replacing gold with Bitcoin. Rand Paul, who has always advocated for government transparency, called for Elon Musk to take the step. He shared the same stance with his father Ron Paul, who had always advocated for the audit of the gold reserves.
Meanwhile, Cynthia Lummis mentioned that Bitcoin will fix the issue. “Bitcoin fixes this. A bitcoin reserve could be audited anytime 24/7 with a basic computer. It’s time to upgrade our reserves,” she said. In response to her post, Elon Musk posted an emoji that depicted that he was thinking about it. The idea seems good on paper because Bitcoin is transparent, while Fort Knox remains locked without public verification.
While the US Mint has often updated the amount of gold in its holding, there have been issues with the said amount, with calculations not tallying with the figures. The mint says it holds 147 million ounces of gold, valuing it at about $42 per ounce, making the total valuation around $6 billion. Meanwhile, gold trades at $2,900 per ounce, making the real value about $425 billion. Lummis also advocated for sole-custody protections, allowing individuals to hold their tokens.
The United States government holds about 200,000 BTC, with most of it from seizures, and Lummis wants the asset moved to the reserve to kickstart the process. Meanwhile, states are not waiting, with Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and other states exploring Bitcoin reserves in their states.