If Western sanctions ramp up, CEXs may be forced to ban all Russian users from using their services, as they have previous done in Iran.
OpenSea updates banned countries list sparking decentralization debate
The world’s largest NFT marketplace has confirmed that it blocks users based on the U.S. sanctions list.
Sanctions and trade: Iran aims to develop a central bank digital currency
While the central bank announced its intention to launch a CBDC, exact details are still scarce.
Digital Denarius: How a crypto revolution could have saved the Roman Empire
As Venezuela and Iran find themselves caught up in the cryptocurrency revolution, could this have saved the Roman Empire from crumbling into infighting and crippling inflation?
Iran to reportedly pilot central bank digital currency soon
The Central Bank of Iran hinted at a possible CBDC pilot soon without elaborating on the time frame of the program.
Iran to allow crypto payments for international trade: Report
Iran is reportedly looking to unlock opportunities for importers and exporters to use crypto in international deals.
Iran halts authorized crypto mining to save energy for winter
Iran previously put a temporary blanket ban on crypto mining amid historically peak periods for power demand in summer.
Iran Blockchain Association head calls for special council on crypto laws
The Blockchain Association is offering to assist with crypto regulations in the Islamic state
Is Hyperinflation Inevitable? Jack Dorsey Says It’ll “Change Everything”
When Square’s boss Jack Dorsey talks about hyperinflation, the world listens. And Twitter reacts. Since so-called developed economies are now feeling the pain that inflation brings, the concept is in everyone’s mind. Every human has a front-row seat to witness the consequences of the United State’s relentless money printing. And, since the Dollar is still the reserve currency of the world, they’re all feeling it too.
Related Reading | Bullish For Bitcoin: US Inflation Expectation Breaks Out From Decade Long Downtrend
This is Jack Dorsey’s tweet:
Hyperinflation is going to change everything. It’s happening.
— jack⚡️ (@jack) October 23, 2021
As you can see, he doesn’t merely talk about inflation. He goes for “hyperinflation,” which caused adverse reactions in the replies and the quoted tweets. They accused him of fear-mongering and quoted official numbers at him. And the nay-sayers probably have a point here, because the US is far removed from the reality that word implies. However, one thing’s for sure: money printer goes brrrrrrrr… and it hasn’t stopped working since Covid hit.
Negative And Moderate Reactions To Jack Dorsey‘s Tweet
This is an example of an unnecessarily insulting response from a traditional finance person.
2/ step back and it’s disturbing that a lot of most powerful financial figures/oligarchs are invested, literally and figuratively, in various huckster schemes and libertarianish fantasies of state and civilizations collapse.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 23, 2021
This man has obviously not done his homework regarding Bitcoin, so his argument is invalid. And doesn’t require a response. Plus, he’s being insulting to get attention, which he got. So, good for him and his dopamine levels. Let’s hope he has fun staying poor.
This is a Venezuelan economist with a moderate answer to Jack Dorsey.
I don't think it will. But it doesn't need to happen for things to get ugly. https://t.co/Cj85mJ8o7x
— Eduardo Gavotti (@EduardoGavotti) October 23, 2021
Since Venezuelans have first-hand experience with hyperinflation, let’s take what he says into account. The US is just feeling what inflation does. So-called developing economies live with that concept on their backs every second of every day.
BTC price chart for 10/23/2021 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Informative Reactions To Jack Dorsey’s Tweet
The Human Rights Foundation’s Alex Gladstein, a notorious Bitcoin maximalist, had this to say to Jack Dorsey.
Those shocked by this tweet live in a bubble of financial privilege.
*1.3 billion* live under double, triple, or quadruple-digit inflation: Turkey, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Iran, Lebanon, Venezuela, Cuba, Sudan, and beyond.
It’s already one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises. https://t.co/P83opDagdu
— Alex Gladstein 🌋 ⚡ (@gladstein) October 23, 2021
He’s not lying. Hyperinflation is “already one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises.” However, the US is far away from “Turkey, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Iran, Lebanon, Venezuela, Cuba”, and Sudan’s situation. And, since the Dollar is still the reserve currency of the world, they have a comfortable cushion to resist the constant money printing’s effects.
Serial entrepreneur and former Coinbase CTO, Balaji Srinivasan, answered Jack Dorsey with a fully-fledged idea. A “censorship-resistant inflation index.”
I wrote a spec for a censorship-resistant inflation index. It’s framed for a startup, but Square could easily do this. In a crisis, accurate inflation info would be something people checked Twitter for every day. @milessuter @moneyball @jack https://t.co/SYb2mfxjex
— Balaji Srinivasan (@balajis) October 23, 2021
In the project, he brings forth some hard truths:
“If inflation is a government-caused problem, we can’t necessarily rely on government statistics like the CPI to diagnose it or remediate it. Indeed, in places with high inflation, censorship and denial is the rule rather than the exception.”
If you are technically capable, there’s still time to send your proposal and earn “A $100k Prize for a Decentralized Inflation Dashboard.” Be aware that “if you use Chainlink’s oracle tech in your project, the best dashboard will be eligible to receive a $100k grant in LINK tokens.” Those tokens are in addition to the main prize.
Poor Understanding Of The Terminology
In a Twitter Spaces room specifically dedicated to Jack Dorsey’s tweet, notorious podcaster Preston Pysh concluded.
“I think people’s understanding of the terminology, deflation, inflation, is just grossly misunderstood. And so, when you say we’re going to have these deflationary events that are then going to lead to more QE, which is then going to result in more inflationary events. I completely agree with you, but we’re talking that there’s so much information loss in such a simple word as deflation and inflation. So the deflationary event is that this whole system is constructed as credit.”
When he says QE, Preston refers to Quantitative Easing, which Investopedia defines as:
“A form of unconventional monetary policy in which a central bank purchases longer-term securities from the open market in order to increase the money supply and encourage lending and investment. Buying these securities adds new money to the economy, and also serves to lower interest rates by bidding up fixed-income securities.”
Related Reading | Jack Dorsey Plans to Build A Decentralized Exchange For Bitcoin
That being said, Preston asks:
“How many people in the US, or in the world, have that context when that’s not their expertise, right? They didn’t get a major in macroeconomics, or finance, or whatever. So, it’s just all buzzwords that people throw around. And, in the meantime, no one really even understands what those definitions even represent.”
For more information about inflation, check out the Bitcoinist Book Club analysis of Saifedean Ammous’ “The Bitcoin Standard.”
Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay – Charts by TradingView
Billion dollar Bitcoin mining industry resumes in Iran after three month ban
The extreme heat of the summer has subsided, so crypto mining has been given the green light as it can no longer be blamed for stressing the electricity grid.
Tehran Stock Exchange CEO resigns following discovery of Bitcoin miners in basement
Iranian authorities have conducted many raids on crypto miners in abandoned factories, homes, and small businesses — nothing quite as high profile as the country’s largest stock exchange.
Illegal crypto mining not cause of power shortages in Iran, ministry says
Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade questioned Tavanir’s claims that illegal mining activities consume 2,000 megawatts of power.
Iran to lift Bitcoin mining ban in September
Authorized Bitcoin miners will be able to resume their operations after the electricity preservation policy during the hot summer months.
Iran’s tax authority wants to legalize crypto exchanges
The Iranian tax agency has called for establishing a legal framework for crypto trading platforms so they can be taxed properly.
Iran pauses electricity exports due to crypto mining and hot summer
Discounted tariffs made Iran attractive to miners, now the country is having a hard time closing the gap between the production and consumption of electricity.
Licensed Iranian crypto miners ordered to halt production ‘altogether’
Even Iran’s minister of labor has reported electrical disruptions to his home as crypto miners continue to exert demand on the country’s power grid.
Proposed bill in Iran could ban all foreign-mined cryptocurrencies
Lawmakers seem to be attempting to establish a legal framework behind a Central Bank of Iran decision for people to only use crypto from state-licensed mining operations for payments.
Iranian trade ministry issues 30 crypto mining licenses
Tehran Province, which houses Iran’s capital, was awarded only one license for operating a crypto mining center.
With crypto mining banned in Iran, local authorities seize 7K rigs
The police chief of Tehran said authorities had raided 50 locations across the Iranian capital in the last 48 hours, discovering 3,000 illegally operating crypto miners.
Iran government reportedly bans local blockchain association
A crypto warning list is the main cause of the ban, according to the head of the Iran Blockchain Community.