Joe Weisenthal: Only Point of Bitcoin Is to Do Transactions “THE MAN Doesn’t Want You to Do”
Former Business Insider executive editor and current Bloomberg Business editor Joe Weisenthal had some interesting things to say about bitcoin and blockchain.
This article is contributed by our content partner, Nexchange NOW.
Former Business Insider executive editor and current Bloomberg Business editor Joe Weisenthal had some interesting things to say about bitcoin and blockchain.
Weisenthal recently posted parts of his Bloomberg Markets newsletter on Twitter and detailed his view that the only point of bitcoin is “to do the transactions THE MAN doesn’t want you to do (including illegal transactions).”
In today's @Markets newsletter, I wrote about how the point of Bitcoin is do to the transactions that THE MAN doesn't want you to do (including illegal transactions). And the allowance of a Bitcoin ETFs would essentially be a big subsidy to this market https://t.co/e5TYtjIuOw pic.twitter.com/fkMbexuv8v
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) October 17, 2019
He also had these to say:
These transactions wouldn't be possible if it weren't for speculators, providing fiat liquidity into the system.
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) October 17, 2019
And the more we see Bitcoin ETFs and other institutional vehicles allow $$ to flow into the space, the more these transactions are able to thrive.
All these people in jeans, blazers and no ties, reading Sapiens, and leaving Wall Street for crypto startups, should think this all the way through.
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) October 17, 2019
Needless to say, this did not sit well with several people. Anthony Pompliano, founder of Morgan Creek Digital Assets, called Weisenthal’s entire argument “wildly inaccurate,” adding:
“YOU’RE CLAIMING THAT NON-CENSORSHIP IS THE ONLY VALUE PROP OF BITCOIN. WHAT ABOUT THE NON-SEIZURE ELEMENT? WHAT ABOUT THE DISINFLATIONARY MONETARY SUPPLY? OR THE SOUND MONEY ELEMENT? OR PSEUDONYMITY? PLEASE STOP WRITING NONSENSE & MISINFORMATION.”
Gemini Bitcoin Exchange co-founder Cameron Winklevoss meanwhile criticized Weisenthal’s reasoning that the money plowed into bitcoin further enables those who use bitcoin commercially.
He said “you wouldn’t argue that the liquidity of the gold market enables ‘transactors,’” adding that “Everyone knows it’s a store of value, not a medium of exchange.” He then asked: “why are you applying this tortured argument to Bitcoin?”
Weisenthal, for his part, admitted that liquidity in gold does enable “transactors” but pointed out that it’s “extremely hard to use gold in a censorship-free manner” and that it’s “not a selling point” for the precious metal. Winklevoss then asked “who exactly is transacting in gold?” to which Weisenthal relented and said that he “generally” agrees with him.
Image via Shutterstock
Original Article: http://www.nexchangenow.com/news/blockchain/71161/joe-weisenthal-only-point-of-bitcoin-is-to-do-transactions-the-man-doesnt-want-you-to-do/
Image source: Shutterstock
