As Bitcoin (BTC) has picked up steam this year, breaking out of a brutal bear market, mainstream financial media outlets have begun to cover this space once again. While many reports regarding cryptocurrencies are bearish, with columns on Bloomberg and other prominent publications bashing Bitcoin, CNBC has begun to bring on bulls.
Most recently, CNBC’s “Squawk Box” segment on Tuesday called on Chamath Palihapitiya, a former executive of Facebook and venture capitalist, to give his reasoning as to why Bitcoin is such a viable buy in today’s ever-changing economy.
Why Buy Bitcoin?
According to the Silicon Valley star, Bitcoin is the perfect hedge “against the traditional financial infrastructure”. He elaborated that if fiscal or monetary policy is wonky, as it arguably is now, having Bitcoin is like “the schmuck insurance you have under your mattress”. His comments come at a perfect time, as the Federal Reserve and other central banks across the globe have begun to continue reducing rates, pushing their sovereign debt sums even lower and lower. Simultaneously, there have been a number of trade spats and poor economic data, hinting that a recession is on the horizon.
Palihapitiya went on the urge viewers to purchase Bitcoin, giving an absolute statement of “just buy the coins. It’s a fantastic instrument.” Like many others in this industry, the venture capitalist and technology executive is sure that within the coming decades, the value of BTC will swell to a figure not even imaginable today.
In saying that Bitcoin is the “single best hedge” against the constraints of the fiat money system, the Social Capital chief executive tacitly confirmed that he believes BTC is better than gold, which has been the go-to store of value and safe haven play for much of human civilization’s history. And this may be for good reason.
As reported by Blockonomi previously, there are a number of reasons why many think this is the case. Most notably, gold isn’t actually as scarce as its proponents and mining companies make it out to be. Not only are there untold deposits in the Earth’s crust and ocean, but there are copious amounts of gold in space, held hostage on asteroids. With the proper technology and the right asteroid, the Earth’s current gold supply could double overnight.
Also, Bitcoin is simply much more functional than gold and is actually more resistant to centralization. Unlike the precious metal, which is not secured by private keys and can be accessed with ample brute force, BTC can be secured to the point of where it is effectively impossible to hack. Moreover, Bitcoin simply easier to use, transfer, and buy (financial inclusion) than its physical counterpart.
Mainstream Media Support
Palihapitiya’s recent statement of support for Bitcoin is the latest in a string of reports and articles from Bloomberg, CNBC, and the Financial Times — three of the largest names in business news — that had clear bullish-on-BTC undertones.
Firstly, Joe Kernen of the “Squawk Box” desk started to question the viability and soundness of fiat money on-air after Facebook unveiled Libra. Per previous reports from this outlet, Kerken tapped into his inner Satoshi, explaining that Libra is a currency for corporations, but Bitcoin is a currency built and used by “the people”.
Also, Tyler Cowen, an economist that frequents Bloomberg’s op-ed column, recently wrote an article detailing four reasons why he believes Bitcoin will succeed. A number of those reasons mentioned Bitcoin’s viability as a hedge against populism and geopolitical unrest.
It is clear that Bitcoin is entering back into the mainstream financial discourse. Many hope that
