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Does Bitcoin Have The Attention Of Janet Yellen?

Does Bitcoin have the attention of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen? A news report filed on Bitcoin.com carries the headline, “Pro-Bitcoin US Lawmaker Cynthia Lummis Plans to Convince Janet Yellen BTC Is Great Store of Value”. Is this an indication of the future for cryptocurrency?

The Bitcoin.com article, posted on February 7, 2021, states that U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis “was appointed to the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee last week. The committee has jurisdiction over a range of matters, including banks, banking, federal monetary policy, currency, and financial aid to commerce and industry”.

Is Bitcoin Really A “Great Store Of Value”?

Lummis is quoted in the article saying.”… I really see it as a great store of value for individuals, for corporations, and for government … It is an excellent store of value and that it should be part of every individual person’s investment portfolio.”

But is Cynthia Lummis’s belief in Bitcoin a plus or a minus? Is this the “post-truth America” of the Trump administration at work in Lummis’ thinking? In the last four years, we have seen a number of self-appointed, uncredentialed experts opining on everything from advanced epidemiology to global economics.

Just because Lummis was appointed to the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee doesn’t make her an expert on finance–just ask Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was appointed to an education committee, of all things, in spite of her repeated support of (and inability to identify) baseless conspiracy theories spread by anonymous internet trolls under the banner QAnon.

Does Bitcoin Have The Attention Of Janet Yellen?

And in this case, the promise of an elected official–Lummis–having the ear of the Treasury Secretary about Bitcoin feels a lot more like a liability the more you research Lummis and her pedigree. Lummis is one of a group of Republican elected officials who insisted–even in the wake of the riot in Washington D.C.–that the election was “stolen”. Lummis’ own words include the following on the subject:

“The hard truth is, this election rocked the faith of many Wyoming citizens in the integrity of our election system. Polling shows that 39% of Americans believe the election was rigged”. She adds, “Congress cannot and shall not dictate the results of a presidential election to our states”

The fact that a 2020 election truther is trying to get the attention of Janet Yellen on behalf of Bitcoin shouldn’t encourage anyone; it should scare them. Anyone with a vested interest (however literally you choose to interpret that) in cryptocurrency should want credible sources talking in a knowledgeable way about cryptocurrency rather than behave in ways that look more like lobbying on behalf of special interests.

Facts Count

Should you trust Cynthia Lummis to make a positive difference on Bitcoin in the halls of government? Credibility counts, so judge for yourself. Of Bitcoin, she says, “It is an excellent store of value and that it should be part of every individual person’s investment portfolio.”

But Investopedia, in providing an entry-level explanation of Bitcoin’s strengths and weaknesses, rather bluntly assesses one of the major risks for cryptocurrency investors related directly to Bitcoin as a quote, great store of value, unquote:

“One of the biggest issues is Bitcoin’s status as a store of value (editor’s note–emphasis ours). Bitcoin’s utility as a store of value is dependent on its utility as a medium of exchange. We base this in turn on the assumption that for something to be used as a store of value it needs to have some intrinsic value, and if Bitcoin does not achieve success as a medium of exchange, it will have no practical utility and thus no intrinsic value and won’t be appealing as a store of value.

Like fiat currencies, Bitcoin is not backed by any physical commodity or precious metal.15 Throughout much of its history, the current value of Bitcoin has been driven primarily by speculative interest. Bitcoin has exhibited characteristics of a bubble with drastic price run-ups and a craze of media attention. This is likely to decline as Bitcoin continues to see greater mainstream adoption, but the future is uncertain.”

There is nothing wrong with investing in cryptocurrency. There is EVERYTHING wrong with spreading misinformation about the basic nature of these investments–informed decision making about high-risk investment opportunities is critical to the survival of the investor.



This post first appeared on More Than Finances, please read the originial post: here

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Does Bitcoin Have The Attention Of Janet Yellen?

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