The U.S. Treasury Department is now accepting donations through Venmo and PayPal to help reduce the staggering $36.65 trillion national debt.
Spotted by NPR’s Jack Corbett, the option appears on Pay.gov, the Treasury’s official payment platform, under the section titled “Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt.” While the donation program has existed since 1996, the expanded digital payment options reflect renewed urgency over America’s ballooning debt, which has risen 87% from $19.59 trillion in 2010.
Despite its long history, the initiative has only attracted $67.3 million in contributions — a drop in the ocean compared to the federal debt total.
Bitcoin tech CEO Samson Mow mocked the move, likening it to “sending Bitcoin to a burn address,” suggesting it has no real impact.
The latest push for donations comes amid renewed concerns following President Donald Trump’s passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will add $3.4 trillion more to the debt over the next ten years. The bill also led to a spat between Trump and Elon Musk, who criticised the $5 trillion debt ceiling hike it includes.
As the U.S. government turns to symbolic public gestures to address its fiscal crisis, questions remain about the practicality and long-term sustainability of current economic policies.
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