Hello, readers and welcome back to News, Views and Truths after our hiatus due to last week’s Bank Holiday weekend. So, let’s get right into it.
I may be sounding like a stuck record, but once again, the topic for the week is the ever-changing face of cryptocurrency. And this week’s piece shows both sides of one particular e-coin.
First off, legitimisation. Last week, El Salvador announced that it is looking into plans to formally accept Bitcoin as legal tender [Source: BBC]. President Nayib Bukele announced that he would propose a bill that would make Bitcoin legal tender alongside the US dollar and that the government would work with digital wallet firm, Strike, to build a framework around the digital currency.
This, in itself, is somewhat understandable. El Salvador’s GDP is somewhat disparate, with around 20% representing money transfers from migrants which often include high transaction fees as well as lengthy delays. The thought is, that the use of a digital currency could potentially make these transfers quicker, although the value will still be affected by the huge swings in value that all cryptos have been experiencing over recent weeks.
And, some may say, the source of much of this volatility, is coming under fire.
On Saturday, global activist hacking group “Anonymous” posted a video, threatening Tesla CEO Elon Musk due to his recent tweets which, they believe, have resulted in huge price fluctuations in digital currencies.
The video states, “It seems that the games you have played with the crypto markets have destroyed lives,” adding that the tweets show a “clear disregard for the average working person.”
Claiming that hardworking people have seen their “dreams liquidated” by “public temper tantrums’ from Musk, the warning ends ominously: “You may think you are the smartest person in the room, but now you have met your match. We are Anonymous! We are legion. Expect us.”
Perhaps the whole, “hardworking people” chat is a bit of a reach, with the term being used as an emotional foil for those in Anonymous who have seen their digital wealth halve in a handful of days. But it does go to show the forces at work in this murky part of the interweb and emphasises the simple fact that, to date, cryptos are fundamentally failing as a currency.
In the words of Sir Michael Caine: “You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off.”
