It was a series of tweets heard around the crypto world. On Thursday, Donald Trump delivered a scathing commentary about Bitcoin on his Twitter page. It didn’t take long for Crypto Twitter to swing into high gear, with superstar crypto influencers like Anthony Pompliano popping in to make their opinions known. Trump remarked that cryptocurrencies are “based in thin air,” giving many crypto advocates cause to call him out. After all, as many pointed out, the U.S. government currency is also based in thin air. It is no longer backed by real gold, so many have argued that the U.S. dollar happens to be in the same exact boat as Bitcoin. Also, many alluded to the language in Trump’s tweets regarding cryptocurrency.
Since he’s never expressed similar sentiments in the past and doesn’t appear to be very savvy about technology in general, several referenced the possibility of the tweets being written by someone else. Some crypto enthusiasts seem to believe that Trump’s aides are steering him away from crypto. His comment that Bitcoin could be used for illegal activities also caught the ire of the crypto community, with many weighing in to mention that most crimes are transacted with cash.
Also, it’s important to note that Trump didn’t just comment on Bitcoin. In addition, he expressed displeasure regarding the idea of Libra, Facebook’s new coin. With this tweet, he went as far as to say that he would try to get Facebook declared a bank in the eyes of the law. This, of course, would make the social media giant subject to all of the regulatory pressures of the banking system. Obviously, this is completely outside the realm in which Facebook usually operates, and all bets indicate that founder Mark Zuckerberg was not expecting this. All of his major Libra executive hires have been people who are heavily influential in the crypto payments world, but not necessarily banking experts. Perhaps it is telling that Facebook’s team chose not to comment upon the controversy.
In the past few weeks, ever since the announcement of Libra, there has been skepticism coming from both sides the aisle regarding Libra. Many Democrats believe that Facebook’s poor handling of Russia’s ad purchases on the platform cost them the 2016 election, while Republicans often lag behind when it comes to crypto savvy. Either way, the case is playing out before the court of public opinion.
