Trump’s Tweet Thrust Bitcoin Center Stage – And That’s a Good Thing
So What Did President Trump Actually Say?
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Whatever your thoughts on the current President of the United States, I think we can all agree that before publically arguing anything it’s essential to have the facts. Making vapid and misleading statements based on nothing but emotions isn’t helpful to anyone. Least of all when it comes from the Oval Office. If Trump had taken the time to ask even a couple of questions about Bitcoin he would know that it certainly isn’t based on thin air.
So What Did President Trump Actually Say?
I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019
Is it really any surprise that a man with a penchant for manipulating the FED and interfering with its monetary policy is not a “fan” of a currency with unmanaged exchange rates, a capped supply, and a non-discretionary monetary policy? I think not.
When you have the ability to print money out of thin air diluting wealth for all and racking up the highest debt of any American president at over $246 trillion; the fact that you can’t just print more Bitcoin is pretty inconvenient.
Then, of course, there’s the old chestnut thrown in there that we’ve heard so many times before from the likes of Paul Krugman, Nouriel Roubini, and other graying American economists resistant to change. Crypto facilitates unlawful behavior, money laundering, drug trade, human trafficking, and the like.
Well, it’s impossible to shrug off Bitcoin’s shady past and association with the Silk Road, Ransomware hacks, and illicit deeds. However, it’s also rather convenient to turn a blind eye to the fact that the US pound is hands down the criminal’s currency of choice when it comes to carrying out nefarious deeds–not Bitcoin or any other crypto. Bitcoin has proven itself much easier to trace than a nameless bag of dirty cash freshly washed through seemingly legitimate businesses.
Let’s Take the Time to Work On the Solutions
Rather than jumping conclusions about cryptocurrency and leaning on arguments that are holding thin, would it not be more helpful to take the time to understand how it works and what makes it such a game-changer?
While we’re at it, now that the conversation is taking place at the highest level, how about throwing the cards on the table, outlining the current issues with the crypto market, and maybe even coming up with sensible solutions to make it more secure?
Yes, the markets are still highly volatile. With a capped supply and in-built scarcity, Bitcoin will always experience gut-wrenching price leaps each time new adopters come on board. However, this is the trade-off the currency makes to avoid centralized human intervention.
It’s also true that crypto can be dangerous; the ecosystem is seething with opportune hackers just waiting to get their hands on private keys and seize people’s funds. But this is a problem with a solution many service providers like Digitex are working on in the form of non-custodial accounts.
Not only will this reduce the attack surface significantly and help users to keep their own funds safe, but it will also prevent them from falling victim to wild and “unregulated” crypto exchanges. And as for the money laundering issue, well, the FATF is clamping down pretty hard on crypto with the backing of the G20.
Trump’s Bitcoin Tweet – He Shoots, He Misses?
Just as with so many of the President’s tweets, his facts are wrong and he shoots first, asks questions later. However, rather than just the random ranting of a 73-year-old man, he may have unknowingly done Bitcoin a favor.
As Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong said, having Bitcoin and crypto take center stage in the political dialog is an achievement finally unlocked:
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
Achievement unlocked! I dreamt about a sitting U.S. president needing to respond to growing cryptocurrency usage years ago. “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”. We just made it to step 3 y’all. https://t.co/N3tzUKELaK
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) July 12, 2019
Circle’s Jeremy Allaire also called it “possibly the largest bull signal for BTC ever.”
Possibly the largest bull signal for BTC ever. Crypto now a Presidential / Global policy issue. People everywhere will embrace a mix of sovereign and non-sovereign digital currency. https://t.co/PK79wmCddM
— Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) July 12, 2019
The Takeaway
Instead of bashing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, it appears that the president is finally legitimizing the volatile currency “based on thin air.” Whatever your stance on Trump, that can only be a step in the right direction for the crypto industry.