Trump slams Bitcoin and Facebook's Libra, says dollar is only real US currency

[midian182]

What just happened? After being stuck below $4,000 for most of this year, Bitcoin’s value has skyrocketed over the last few weeks, helped in no small part by Facebook’s announcement of its Libra virtual currency. But one person not convinced by the crypto resurgence is Donald Trump, who says he is “not a fan” because their “value is highly volatile and based on thin air.”

The president posted a series of tweets yesterday criticizing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He singled out Facebook’s upcoming Libra virtual currency, which he says, “will have little standing or dependability.”

Trump added that “if Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks, both National and International.”

....Similarly, Facebook Libra’s “virtual currency” will have little standing or dependability. If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks, both National...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019

Like Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, Trump is a cryptocurrency skeptic, warning that unregulated crypto can facilitate illegal activities such as drug dealing. He finished the tirade by reaffirming his confidence in the US dollar. “We have only one real currency in the USA, and it is stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable. It is by far the most dominant currency anywhere in the World, and it will always stay that way. It is called the United States Dollar,” he wrote.

...and International. We have only one real currency in the USA, and it is stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable. It is by far the most dominant currency anywhere in the World, and it will always stay that way. It is called the United States Dollar!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019

Last month, Facebook revealed that Libra and its Calibra digital wallet would arrive next year, but the Senate Banking Committee was quick to announce that it would be holding a hearing on the virtual currency.

At the beginning of July, the Democratic heads of the House Financial Services Committee asked Facebook to "immediately cease implementation plans" for Libra so regulators can explore concerns including hacking, data security, and global financial security.

In addition to the all the problems it is facing, Libra could be banned in India. This would be especially bad for Facebook as the country makes up a large portion of users the crypto is targeting.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/80920-trump-slams-bitcoin-facebook-libra-dollar-only-real.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Imagine being a president who says inane things and only getting away with it because 30% of the country worships your racist trolling in a cult of personality.

 

[Jeff Re]

What exactly is real about the dollar?

 

[ForgottenLegion]

What exactly is real about the dollar?

The US control it and can print as much as they want.

Merica.

 

[ShagnWagn]

Gold should be brought back as the standard. The U.S. can print as much money out of "thin air" as it wants, so Trump's statement is null. Same thing with crypto - you can make as much of you want, except there is no regulation.

 

[fluffydestroyer]

You may hate trump all you like what he says here is completely true. I mean I don't expect any company to use crypto currency and not be regulated. thats insane.

If you remove the pissing or **** showing contest here, the US economy is strong but the main point here is us or a lot of dollars in the world are more stable and less volatile than crypto and its too risky to invest in it anyways... for now

 

[OutlawCecil]

SWEET!
Hey everybody! Trump hates Bitcoin which means it's a good thing. Everybody go invest!

::adds Bitcoin to the list of things Trump hates which are obviously good things::
::writes it right under solar panels:::

 

[netman]

The bitcoin was invented because the US has weaponized the dollar specially against the states that counter it. De-dollarization is on the rise and eventually would prevail...may take up to a decade or longer!

 

[DukeJukem]

What exactly is real about the dollar?

you can hold it

 

[treetops]

Now every news piece about crypto will have some nut jobs crying about it.

 

[Uncle Al]

Interesting .... we hear few, if any complaints about the rules and laws that the big banking conglomerates put together, how they are bailed out when their "junk bond" real estate swindle collapses but now hear lots of complaints about a means of moving money that won't benefit the big banks. Mind you, I am NOT in favor to these new banking systems but you have to ask yourself why they are so popular?

 

[Bas Keur]

What exactly is real about the dollar?

The US control it and can print as much as they want.

Merica.

Not True,
Hyperinflation is a ***** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78-BlZXm7wA

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Trump wouldn't have a clue what crypto or bitcoin even means. He's bleating like a stuck pig because he knows he can't rort the system like he does with his taxes and his own money.

 

[slamscaper]

As much as I hate Trump, I do have to agree with certain things he is saying here. I mean look at all the crime going on that Bitcoin is facilitating. Especially the ransomware epidemic. There are plenty of government and privately funded entities paying ransoms because they have no choice to. And being that the ransom is paid over Tor in Bitcoin, nobody is getting caught, which is making more black hat hackers get together to make a lot of money illegally.

I'm not saying Cryptocurrency can't work, but it needs to be regulated tighter. We can't have companies getting robbed right out in the open without consequences.

 

[Ludak021]

As much as I hate Trump, I do have to agree with certain things he is saying here. I mean look at all the crime going on that Bitcoin is facilitating. Especially the ransomware epidemic. There are plenty of government and privately funded entities paying ransoms because they have no choice to. And being that the ransom is paid over Tor in Bitcoin, nobody is getting caught, which is making more black hat hackers get together to make a lot of money illegally.

I'm not saying Cryptocurrency can't work, but it needs to be regulated tighter. We can't have companies getting robbed right out in the open without consequences.

Yea, US dollar didn't facilitate crime, ever.

 

[Knot Schure]

Wow, President Trump has no idea what he is talking about - the whole idea of Bitcoin was a decentralized currency that the bankers / governments could not control or manipulate - so OF COURSE he is not going to like it.

Well its here.

Best get over it.

 

[slamscaper]

Yea, US dollar didn't facilitate crime, ever.

Not in the way I've mentioned. When's the last time you saw a major company get held for ransom and ask for USD and actually get away with it?

You didn't understand the context of my argument. Bitcoin is something being utilized more and more for these types of crimes and it's on the rise. Ransomware developers are highly sought after and they are getting more and more sophisticated. Even state government entities are PAYING THEM because they have no other choice, since losing everything and restarting will cost them more anyway. We cannot continue to allow this to happen.

Perhaps the answer is just better IT security, which would be a great thing. But not everyone can afford to hire the best security guys in the business. This certainly opens up the need for them. This is one time in my life where I can say without a doubt that the black hats are actually a step ahead of the good guys. This is not a good thing, obviously.

 

[Ludak021]

You are focusing on a single type of crime that could have been and can be prevented if a company had hired competent staff to deal with security, instead of just having Avira on a server.

I could do you one better actually, for the dollar (or any fiat currency): when have you heard anyone held another person at gunpoint demanding their wallet? Many times right? Cards solved this to some point, and crypto wallets solve it almost entirely. They also solve the problem of traveling abroad carrying more than X amount of cash. Payment options to people are faster with crypto and so on.
"But not everyone can afford to hire the best security guys in the business."
I guess they can't afford to pay ransom either and their data is pretty much low value anyway. If your data is worth millions, you CAN hire someone but you are cheap, now pay millions in ransom. I mean, I do not endorse this, but person that complains that swimming lessons are expensive then proceeds to almost drawn, I have no sympathy for.

"This is not a good thing, obviously."

Obviously. Neither is mullions getting killed by cars yet we are not demanding a ban on cars.

 

[Mugsy]

I hate to agree with Mango Mussolini, but as long as the value of "virtual currency" is expressed in "dollars", it's not real money.

Unlike Debit/Credit cards that simply track your dollars, "Bitcoins" are the digital equivalent of "pennies". You can't use them in vending machines and no one shops for items only to pay in pennies. It's a currency whose only value is in your ability to convert it into dollars.

 

[Mugsy]

Gold should be brought back as the standard. The U.S. can print as much money out of "thin air" as it wants, so Trump's statement is null. Same thing with crypto - you can make as much of you want, except there is no regulation.

No, no they can't (print dollars out of thin air.)

Money is generated by Production. If you simply print money without a corresponding increase in GDP, the sum value of all money in circulation is diminished and causes inflation.

"Gold" is simply not a viable option in the 21st Century. The money supply can only be increased when either your supply of gold increases or the value of gold increases. And if you tie the value of money to the *value* of gold, then you have people manipulating the price of gold... and now you're right back in the same situation (printing worthless money.)

 

[koblongata]

There are trade wars, but with cryptocurrency.. if it becomes dominant it would soon lead to computing power wars, I don't think it will end up any better than trade war which is more straightforward in a business sense.

 

[Ludak021]

I hate to agree with Mango Mussolini, but as long as the value of "virtual currency" is expressed in "dollars", it's not real money.

Unlike Debit/Credit cards that simply track your dollars, "Bitcoins" are the digital equivalent of "pennies". You can't use them in vending machines and no one shops for items only to pay in pennies. It's a currency whose only value is in your ability to convert it into dollars.

In my country it's expressed in my local currency, or I can trade it for gold. You are lost on what crypto coins are...Just because you look at it's value through dollar, doesn't mean it's the only thing it is tr added for. You can trade it for whatever you like. Once again, most of the world doesn't even allow US citizens to register on their exchange markets, or trade for US Dollar.

edit: it's not about using it in vending machines. You can't use stocks in vending machines either... Jeez...

 

[Markoni35]

What exactly is real about BitCoin? Nothing. It can sink 10x faster than dollar did when euro-currency was introduced. It can rise again like it's made of helium, and drop like a stone the very next day.

Cryptocurrencies are as stable as Brazilian cruzado novo hyperinflation currency in 1980'es. Useless for any normal economy.

 

[Ludak021]

People have been telling that same story since when BTC was worth ~0.1$, some 7 years ago.

 

[Markoni35]

People have been telling that same story since when BTC was worth ~0.1$, some 7 years ago.

You obviously don't understand the purpose of money. Money is not stock. Yes, you can earn money with money (for example using FOREX) but that's a dirty aspect of money that should actually be banned. However, with BTC that's everything. That's its hole purpose. To serve as another stock or derivative.

That's not the purpose of money. The purpose of money is to serve as an intermediate for exchanging other commodities. And as such it must be stable. Without big fluctuations. A few percent in a few months, that's maximum. Anything beyond that makes it useless as money.

If it's losing its value for a long time - that's the equivalent of hyperinflation. Nobody wants to use such a currency for anything serious. If it's gaining value for a long time - then it's a collectable. It's not money anymore. Nobody wants to sell it. They wanna keep it, because it's gaining value. Which prevents it from being used as an intermediate commodity (aka money). It becomes similar to buying old Roman coins, or government bonds, or stocks, or an old painting.

Except that with old paintings and Roman coins you can be sure that each year their value would increase. Guaranteed. Because they are getting even older. While with BTC it can be the opposite. If you need to sell it, maybe at that moment its value will be 5 times lower than when you bought it. Which means a heavy loss for you. Unless you can wait for another X years for it to recover. Which makes it useless as money. Because money must be stable.