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Antonopoulos On Trust: Fake News ‘Is About To Happen To Money’
Wilma Woo | May 14, 2017 | 21:00
Andreas Antonopoulos has predicted that the world’s money supply will suffer the fate of information in the fake news era.
Money To Get Its Fake News Moment
In a talk originally held April 11 but republished Saturday, Antonopoulos said that in light of the multiple currency failures seen in recent times, consumers no longer know what gives cash in their pockets value. During the discussion Antonopoulos commented:
What’s really interesting is what just happened in [the] news that has left an entire generation of people now unable to discern truth from fiction, easily manipulated through propaganda […] What I’m going to suggest today is this is about to happen to money.
Just like the information consumer watching television or reading news sources online, the debate about whom to trust and whether the reputation of a source means that source can be considered reliable is now transferring to the financial sector.
…And Bitcoin Is Already On Consumers’ Radar
Antonopoulos highlights the currency failures in countries including Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Ukraine as prime examples of central banks failing to uphold the promise that cash will be worth approximately the same tomorrow as today.
One day, that phrase which seemed so meaningful and strong and satisfying – ‘the full faith and credit of the United States of America’ […] – compare it to this one: ‘the full faith and credit of the National Bank of Zimbabwe.’ […] That sentence no longer has much weight to it.
In terms of Bitcoin’s role in providing a haven away from trusting third party authority, Antonopoulos used India’s increased interest in the virtual currency following demonetization of 86% of its cash supply last November.
Bitcoin is not going after replacing national currency; […] it’s doing something far more dangerous: it’s encouraging people to put their savings outside the system.
Germany: ‘If You Think Bitcoin Is Safe As Fiat, Take Responsibility’
For those reading the news a month after Antonopoulos’ words, a warning against using Bitcoin, this time from Germany’s central bank, now strikes an altogether less sincere tone.
“From our perspective Bitcoin does not constitute a suitable medium for storage of wealth,” Bundesbank board member Carl-Ludwig Thiele told German newspaper, Die Welt, last weekend. “Just one look at the highly volatile exchange rate demonstrates that.”
In further comments even more ironic in light of Antonopoulos’ words about trust, Thiele continued:
Whoever nonetheless thinks Bitcoin is as safe as the euro or dollar must take responsibility for that. All we can do is warn people about using Bitcoin as a means of wealth storage.
What do you think about Andreas Antonopoulos and Carl-Ludwig Thiele’s opinions? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Andreas Antonopoulos, Reuters, AdobeStock
