President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan funding bill into law, officially ending the 43-day government shutdown—the longest in U.S. history.

The shutdown began on September 30, 2025, when Congress failed to pass funding legislation before the fiscal year’s end, largely due to a standoff over Democratic demands to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025.

The US Treasury built up its TGA to around $1 trillion during the shutdown, absorbing ~$700 billion from broader markets. This reduced available capital for risk assets like crypto, as funds were funneled into government coffers instead of banks, money markets, or stablecoins. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) saw heightened volatility, with BTC dropping ~18% from its early October all-time high of ~$125,000 to ~$103,000 by November 13.

Shutdowns halt releases of critical reports (e.g., jobs, inflation), complicating Federal Reserve decisions. This fueled market jitters, as investors couldn’t gauge rate cut probabilities accurately.

Despite a 99% chance of an October rate cut per CME FedWatch, the lack of data prolonged uncertainty. Crypto’s high correlation with dollar liquidity 0.85 for BTC in 2025 exacerbated downside pressure.

Regulatory Stagnation: Agencies like the SEC and CFTC operated on skeleton crews, delaying ETF approvals (e.g., spot Solana and XRP products launched automatically but without full oversight), enforcement actions, and market structure bills.

The House’s Digital Asset Market Clarity Act missed a key October 20 markup deadline, pushing potential progress to late 2025 or 2026. This created a “regulatory vacuum,” deterring institutional inflows into altcoins while Bitcoin ETFs saw cautious gains.

Key Details of the Bill

The legislation, passed by the Senate on November 10 60-40 vote, with eight Democrats crossing the aisle and the House on November 12 222-209 vote, with six Democrats joining Republicans, provides: Short-term funding extension.

Most federal agencies funded at current levels through January 30, 2026, averting another immediate cliff. For the Department of Agriculture, military construction, and legislative branch agencies. Food assistance continuity.

Full funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) through September 2026, benefiting over 40 million low-income Americans who faced disruptions during the shutdown.

Worker protections: Back pay for furloughed or unpaid federal employees estimated at 800,000 workers, reinstatement of laid-off staff, and a temporary halt to further reductions in force (RIFs) through January.

No ACA subsidy extension: A major Democratic concession; Republicans agreed to a Senate vote on the subsidies in December, but House passage remains uncertain. The bill’s passage came after weekend negotiations between moderate Senate Democrats and Republicans, breaking a filibuster.

Trump signed it in a late-evening Oval Office ceremony, criticizing Democrats for using the shutdown as “political leverage” and vowing, “We can never let this happen again.”

Impacts of the Shutdown

The impasse caused widespread disruptions: Economic toll: Estimated GDP loss of 0.1-0.2 percentage points per week, or about $10-20 billion total, though much is recoverable. Federal debt continued rising at ~$1.8 trillion annually.

Affected services: Halts to air traffic control leading to flight cuts, Smithsonian museums and National Zoo closures, delayed IRS tax refunds, and SNAP payment interruptions that left some families without food aid.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers (e.g., TSA agents, park rangers) went unpaid; some resorted to food banks or loans. The Trump administration’s court battles over SNAP funding highlighted the strain.

Democrats, reeling from 2024 election losses, used the shutdown to spotlight healthcare access, tying it to ACA subsidies aiding 20 million Americans. Republicans, controlling Congress, resisted, viewing it as a “hostage” tactic.

The compromise sets up future battles: Trump has pushed to eliminate the Senate filibuster for budget bills, and the ACA issue looms large in December. Polls showed Trump’s approval dipping during the crisis, but the quick resolution may blunt long-term damage.

Federal operations are resuming as early as November 13, with full back pay processing expected within weeks.

Recent developments confirm that Taiwan’s Central Bank (CBC) and the Executive Yuan have agreed to formally study the inclusion of Bitcoin (BTC) as a strategic reserve asset. This move, announced on November 12, 2025, marks a significant step toward diversifying Taiwan’s national reserves away from heavy reliance on the U.S. dollar and traditional assets like U.S. Treasuries.

If implemented, it could position Taiwan as one of the first Asian nations to pilot sovereign Bitcoin holdings. The proposal is led by Legislator Dr. Ju-chun Ko of the Kuomintang party, who has highlighted risks from the New Taiwan Dollar’s (TWD) volatility (e.g., 5% daily swings in 2025), global inflation, U.S. tariff uncertainties, and geopolitical tensions in the region.

Ko argues that Bitcoin’s decentralized nature offers a hedge against these issues and reduces overdependence on USD-denominated assets. In May 2025, Ko urged the CBC to evaluate BTC, citing examples like the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve established earlier in the year.

The CBC will conduct a comprehensive review of Bitcoin’s feasibility as a reserve, including risk models, legal frameworks, anti-money laundering compliance, and wallet security. A full research report is expected before the end of 2025.

Initial BTC holdings will use seized cryptocurrency from criminal cases valued at around $146 million in 2024, currently awaiting auction. This low-risk approach allows testing without immediate market purchases.

Pro-Bitcoin regulations are in development to support broader integration, building on Taiwan’s crypto-friendly policies (e.g., allowing professional investors to buy foreign BTC ETFs since 2024).

No timeline for full adoption has been set, and concerns around BTC’s volatility and custody remain. Taiwan’s reserves are currently concentrated in U.S. Treasuries, with the CBC intervening heavily (e.g., $10.12 billion purchase in May 2025) to stabilize the TWD.

This initiative aligns with global trends: El Salvador adopted BTC as legal tender in 2021, Argentina explored it in 2024, and 73% of central banks anticipate declining USD shares in reserves.

Taiwan’s move could accelerate institutional BTC adoption in Asia, where neighbors like Japan and South Korea are monitoring closely, while Singapore focuses on stablecoins. Bitcoin’s price dipped below $101,000 amid this week’s volatility, but such nation-state interest often boosts long-term sentiment.

This is still in the exploratory phase—no formal policy is enacted yet—but the commitment to pilots and studies signals strong momentum. The U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) represents a landmark policy shift, formalizing Bitcoin (BTC) as a national reserve asset akin to gold or oil stockpiles.

Established via Executive Order on March 6, 2025, by President Donald Trump, it centralizes government-held BTC to position the U.S. as a leader in digital assets. This initiative builds on campaign promises to make America the “crypto capital of the world” and counters perceived regulatory overreach from prior administrations.

As of November 2025, the reserve remains in its early implementation phase, with ongoing legislative pushes and global ripple effects. Bitcoin is viewed as “digital gold” due to its fixed supply of 21 million coins, decentralization, and unhackable blockchain—never breached in its history.

Proponents argue it hedges against inflation, dollar debasement, and geopolitical risks, diversifying reserves beyond U.S. Treasuries and gold. Trump highlighted strategic advantages in holding BTC early, especially amid U.S.-China tensions in tech and finance.

The U.S. government has accumulated BTC primarily through seizures from criminal cases (e.g., Silk Road, ransomware). Past sales (e.g., ~195,000 BTC sold for $366 million over a decade) are now criticized as missed opportunities, worth ~$17 billion today.

The SBR prevents future sales, treating BTC as a long-term store of value. For non-BTC cryptos also from seizures, for orderly management. A full audit of federal holdings was mandated within 30 days, completed by April 2025. White House AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks described it as a “digital Fort Knox.”

Budget-neutral—sourced from ~198,000-207,000 seized BTC valued at $17-18 billion in March 2025, now higher amid BTC’s rise above $100,000. Agencies transferred holdings; ~55% from one case (Bitfinex hack) was returned, netting ~86,000 BTC initially.

Approximately 198,000 BTC as of establishment, post-audits and returns. Valued at ~$17 billion in March 2025; by November 2025, with BTC near $101,000-$115,000, this equates to $20-23 billion. Treasury and Commerce are developing “budget-neutral” methods for more BTC, such as:Partnerships with U.S. miners.

Potential sales of gold reserves (~$800 billion) to fund purchases. No taxpayer costs; avoids direct market buys to prevent volatility. BTC rose ~35% post-2024 election. Experts like KBW call it a “pivotal moment,” boosting institutional adoption (e.g., Brown University’s $4.9M BTC ETF stake).

Sparks “game theory” race—Russia, Bhutan exploring reserves. U.S. dominance could stabilize dollar while pressuring rivals like China. Polymarket odds for full reserve by year-end: ~65% per trader bets.

Great feedback continues to come on my thesis that a single African currency is an illusion, not a catalyst, for continental prosperity. During my doctoral work in banking and finance, I spent years studying currency systems and globalization. My conclusion remains unchanged:

A single currency in Africa will produce welfare losses because our economic architectures are deeply heterogeneous. And under a supranational central bank, the fiscally irresponsible big nations will inadvertently punish the smaller, more disciplined ones.

Take West Africa as a practical case. Nigeria’s economy is driven by crude oil, a commodity with a volatility cycle completely disconnected from what happens in Togo. If you force both nations under one currency, the supranational bank must prioritize shocks in Nigeria, not because it loves Nigeria more, but because the currency cannot survive if the largest economy collapses.

In that moment, Togo becomes collateral damage. When oil prices fall, Togo will feel the pain of an oil crash it did not create. Contrast this with the Eurozone. Europe can run a single currency because its economies are comparatively homogenous, diversified, and productive. The European Central Bank can intervene uniformly because the economic baselines are aligned. Africa is far from that equilibrium.

And let us remember something that is often forgotten: Africa already has a single currency zone: CEMAC, the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa. Six nations use the Central African CFA franc. Yet, despite decades of monetary union, the development outcomes remain marginal because monetary integration without production capacity translates only to symbolic benefits, not transformative prosperity.

Over the years, I have written extensively on this subject for the World Bank and the African Union. One of those papers, still hosted on the AU website, provides deeper technical analysis:

Click to access 31782-doc-congress_article_volume_2.pdf

(Yes, before returning fully to electronics, I lived in the world of banking.)

But let me close with what I consider Africa’s real macroeconomic problem: we are urbanizing without industrializing. In the typical historical sequence, nations industrialize first, then urbanize. Africa is doing the reverse, and the imbalance weakens everything, from currency resilience to job creation. I discussed this in a Harvard Business Review piece.

So, Good People, the path remains clear: Production is the antidote. Productivity is the stabilizer. Innovation is the currency. Remove these pillars, and a single African currency, like the gold standard or Bitcoin treasury fantasies, will remain an illusion. QED.