The cryptosphere was rubbing its hands with glee when U.S.
president Donald Trump fired off a typically cantankerous tweetstorm on
June 11 in which he took aim at Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and Libra.
Bitcoiners relished the sudden attention directed towards their sphere
from the president’s 62 million-strong Twitter account, but took issue
with the veracity of his claims. Here are 10 of the best replies.
Trump Tweetstorm Sparks a Thunderous Response
“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not
money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air,” began
Donald Trump, never one to mince his words or check his facts before
hitting send. “Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful
behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity….” He went on
to take aim at Facebook’s Libra currency, asserting that a banking
charter is required to engage in money transmission. Then came the
kicker, draped in the stars and stripes and dispatched on the wings of a
bald eagle:
We have only one real currency in the USA, and it is
stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable. It is by far the most
dominant currency anywhere in the World, and it will always stay that
way. It is called the United States Dollar!
At that moment, several million people were exposed to Bitcoin for
the first time, while 15,000 who were already familiar with the benefits
of cryptocurrency took to Twitter and set President Trump right on a
few matters.
‘Cryptocurrency Is Used by Criminals’
To counter the second of Trump’s misleading claims (the first being
that the value of bitcoin is based on ‘thin air’), one user directed the
president towards a series of images dispelling the notion that cryptocurrency is criminals’ currency of choice:
Others attacked the U.S. dollar’s diminishing value against bitcoin by linking to usdsat.com.
And then there were those who targeted broader issues, such as
America’s role in causing global instability through phony drug wars,
unwarranted drone attacks, dragnet surveillance and operating a de facto financial cartel.
Many bitcoiners, however, were simply content in the knowledge that
‘the virus’ was spreading, and tomorrow millions would awaken with their
curiosity piqued by Bitcoin’s capabilities.
As Nic Carter, addressing the tribalistic battleground that is crypto Twitter, put it, “For one glorious moment we were united.”
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