Trump Hates Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency, Because They 'Facilitate Illegal Activity'

Not everyone is a fan of cryptocurrencies, and just how useful it is as opposed to plain old money is still being debated.

Enthusiasts argue its decentralized nature and flexibility, while analysts worry about how volatile it is. And the latest to weigh in is US President Donald Trump.

Reuters

On Thursday Trump put out a series of tweets, dissing Bitcoin and its ilk. He specifically went on to mention Facebook's new cryptocurrency Libra, and how it should be regulated "just like other banks".

Facebook announced Libra just last month, saying it was expecting to launch in 2020. The social network has managed to find backers in 28 partners, including big names like Mastercard, PayPal, Uber, and more.

....Similarly, Facebook Libra¡¯s ¡°virtual currency¡± will have little standing or dependability. If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks, both National...

¡ª Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019

Now, yesterday was also the day the White House hosted a "social media summit", with the orange-in-chief probably ranting to conservatives about social media bias and censorship against them. Perhaps then the Twitter tirade was simply an offshoot of that anger that began with Facebook, and just spread to include Bitcoin and others too.

Two things here are interesting though. For one, Trump is oddly enough on the side of Democrats in the US that have asked Facebook to put its crypto plans on hold, while they investigate it for potential financial risks to the US economy.

For another, Trump is alienating some of his biggest supporters with his anti-crypto stance; the alt-right.

To begin with, alt-right Americans were already attracted to the decentralization of cryptocurrency thanks to their general anti-establishment position. Moreover, cryptocurrency has become crucial to their movement, now that payment portals like PayPal have jumped on the de-platforming bandwagon.

When white supremacist websites and platforms can't receive donations in dollars, their only income has been through Bitcoin and the like. So they're not happy with Trump right now.

Does this mean anything for India's own cryptocurrency debate? Probably not. We're still trying to figure out how exactly we want to deal with the situation, though the Indian government is considering a ban on even possessing cryptocurrency of any nature.