Uh-oh. It looks like President Donald Trump has angered a few people following his recent statements regarding cryptocurrency.
Trump Rubs Some People the Wrong Way
On Twitter, the President suggested that all crypto assets were not money, and that the U.S.’s only true currency was USD. Trump was particularly cold towards both bitcoin and Libra – the cryptocurrency being developed by Facebook.
In the tweet, Trump attacked the volatility often associated with these currencies. This didn’t fly with a social media platform called Gab, which is particularly popular amongst right-wing and conservative users. The company messaged the President and criticized his opinion of crypto, claiming:
You are wrong about this. Bitcoin is free speech money.
In addition, the company appeared to suggest that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was somehow behind the message or responsible for it. It followed up with:
Jared, give the phone back to Donald.
Gab has been at the center of controversy in the past. It was discovered that the Pittsburg synagogue shooter last year responsible for the murders of roughly 11 people and the injuring of six others had posted anti-Semitic content on the site many times. Gab was temporarily closed after it lost its connection to GoDaddy, its web hosting partner. GoDaddy criticized Gab for failing to halt hate speech on its platform.
Gab was also left out of Trump’s recent social media summit which was hosted at the White House. Gab didn’t take kindly to this maneuver, commenting that Trump merely filled his summit with “safe z-list MAGA celebrities and cheerleaders.”
Cryptocurrencies, particularly Libra, have come under fire by several world leaders. The United Kingdom is now considering a permanent ban on all crypto-related products given the volatility they exhibit, while other nations, such as India, will not allow Libra-based services within its borders.
In addition, several U.S. lawmakers have asked Facebook to hold off on its Libra plans indefinitely until they can better understand what the company is seeking to accomplish through a crypto platform.
Is Volatility Still That Big an Issue?
For the most part, volatility is getting to be a very old argument when it comes to criticizing cryptocurrencies. While volatility is still a problem, the issue seems to have calmed down somewhat in recent months. What we’re witnessing at press time, for example – bitcoin has recently fallen from $12,500 to about $11,600 – is more a standard correction than a full-on price swing.
In fact, currencies like bitcoin have been expanding heavily in price over the past few months. Falling to roughly $3,500 in November of last year, bitcoin struck a new low with many traders and stayed within this range for approximately five months until April 2019, when it hit $5,000 for the first time in a long while. The currency has been on a bullish run ever since.
