Former US Mint Director Edmund C. Moy on Crashing Currencies: “More Citizens are Now Relying on Bitcoin Air Bags for Safety”
Whenever there are crashing currencies somewhere around the world, Bitcoin enthusiasts start “chomping at the bit” to introduce cryptocurrency to the economically unstable space. As the world becomes increasingly connected through the internet, the overall financial inclusion has not followed suit. More and more people around the world are now able to securely use Bitcoin as devices such as Bitcoin hardware wallets and easy-to-use solutions for multi-signature transactions become available.
Writing specifically about countries with crashing currencies, the 38th Director of the US Mint Edmund C. Moy highlighted that Bitcoin is a valid choice for those experiencing a crashing currency at home. Moy said:
When a currency is headed for a devastating crash, citizens do not have to just hope for the best anymore. The free market has given them a new choice. And more citizens are now relying on bitcoin air bags for safety.
Also read: Hyperinflation Hits Venezuelan Bolivar
Edmund C. Moy on Bitcoin and Crashing Currencies
Speaking of the world’s most beleaguered national currencies such as the Argentinian peso, the Ecuadorian dollar, the Venezuelan Bolivar, the Russian ruble, and the Ukrainian hryvnia, Moy explained Bitcoin’s particular appeal in this select countries, which applies everywhere in the world:
I am not surprised to find that interest in bitcoin is skyrocketing among citizens in these countries. When a currency collapses, citizens want to sell the national currency they own for a more stable currency. But their governments regulate the foreign currency and gold exchanges and usually ban conversions in a vain attempt to save their national currency.
Moy continues to describe exactly why Bitcoin could be a more stable currency; in particular, Bitcoin is intrinsically more difficult for governments to regulate from a currency perspective. In countries with rampant inflation, governments are usually more worried about the blackmarket for products of the US Mint instead of bitcoin, though we may eventually see that change. As a matter of fact, Russia has plans to fine users of digital currency. Other countries, such as Ecuador, are considering adopting digital currency to increase the efficacy of their in-house payment systems; though, the likely lack of decentralization begs the same questions about security, censorship, and freedom.
Moy, who gave a rousing keynote speech at the Cryptolina Bitcoin conference, believes in the potential of Internet technology, which Bitcoin is a natural progression of. While within the United States, different states and different regulatory bodies are still hashing out how to regulate Bitcoin, around the world the globe’s citizens generally live their lives at the mercy of their respective governments’ financial whims. Moy explained why Bitcoin is an attractive alternative to people living in such conditions:
The internet has changed this government monopoly. Citizens with a computer and a bank account or credit card can buy bitcoin and the government cannot stop them. And local access to bitcoin is growing like wildfire. For example, there are 5,000 bitcoin terminals across Ukraine and 8,000 Argentina convenience stores selling bitcoin.
Even places with relatively stable and non-crashing currencies, such as Taiwan and Indonesia, are seeing an increase in Bitcoin availability. Between the two countries, there are over 15,000 convenience stores where Bitcoin can be bought.
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