Well, they have a point on Lindsay Lohan... That said, there is clearly an opportunity for some kind of digital future when it comes to our currency. But will it be bitcoin? In some ways, institutional buying was never what bitcoin was intended for... One could argue that its roots are in an alternative, almost anti-government, Libertarian culture being corrupted by mainstream Hollywood, mainstream tech, mainstream media, and even... mainstream financial institutions. Musk, BlackRock, MassMutual, SkyBridge... these guys are the newcomers. One could argue that its roots are in an alternative, almost anti-government, Libertarian culture being corrupted by mainstream Hollywood, mainstream tech, mainstream media, and even... mainstream financial institutions. But was their investment really what the cool kids intended? Bitcoin has had a long and loyal following for almost a decade... a group that really believes in the product. And there’s an inherent quality about many of these individuals that they all seem to share... None of them have much faith in government institutions. Most have a very independent, libertarian view of the world and our economy. And they gravitate to bitcoin
But better late than never... Tesla recently announced that it had spent $1.5 billion of its cash reserves buying bitcoin, and would soon start accepting payment for its electric vehicles in the digital currency. Supporters claim bitcoin is a secure, sophisticated alternative to cash... that the government can never touch. The critics, however, say otherwise... They point to the recent mania arguing it may be the digital equivalent of the Dutch tulip bubble made famous in the mid-1600s. Critics argue the bitcoin craze is just that... a craze. The Financial Times summed up the critics’ concerns well, writing that... To them, bitcoin is at best the tip of an iceberg of speculation unleashed by low interest rates. At worst they consider it an environmentally destructive, quasi- pyramid scheme with no real utility outside financing illegal activity. Or as one wag once bitingly described bitcoin: “Imagine if keeping your car idling 24/7 produced solved Sudokus you could trade for heroin.” For skeptics, the endorsement of various celebrities – the actress Lindsay Lohan this week tweeted “bitcoin to the moon” next to a rocket ship emoji – only adds to the perception of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as fundamentally vacuous, and dominated by feckless promoters rather than serious financiers.
American Consequences
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