Strike founder and CEO Jack Mallers said Bitcoin and artificial intelligence could help people recover time for creative work by reducing the economic burden of what he called bad money. He argued that money represents human time and energy, while hard money, or currency designed to preserve purchasing power, can better reward effort. Mallers said the Federal Reserve's debate over raising or lowering interest rates had become immaterial because either path would ultimately lead to inflation. He said U.S. debt had exceeded 120% of gross domestic product, also described in the source as reaching $40 trillion, and called the level unsustainable. His comments followed Bitcoin's roughly 25% August gain, its strongest month of 2026 and first positive August since 2021, with the cryptocurrency ending the month near $78,000. The rally followed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's expansion of long-dated bond buybacks, which lowered yields and triggered billions of dollars in short liquidations. The dollar weakened after the buyback news and the announcement about U.S. debt. Core consumer prices rose 0.3% in August from July, exceeding expectations, while oil prices surged and the Federal Reserve was widely expected to raise rates that week to contain inflation amid an affordability crisis.