- Bitcoin has shrugged off months of criticism to hit $40,000 yesterday
- The FUD continued this week with derogatory comments from the IMF and a U.S. senator
- Bitcoin’s strength has been severely tested in the past two months
Bitcoin has been hit with an incredible amount of criticism in the past few months, and yet yesterday it hit $40,000 just days after dropping to $29,000. Bitcoin has had plenty of experience in fighting FUD over the years, and yet the most recent barrage has probably been the most savage in its history. Bitcoin’s ability to not just survive this but to remain in bull market territory is testament to its strength these days, strength that must by now be infuriating to the outlets and individuals who continuously predict its demise.
IMF Warns Against Bitcoin Adoption
The FUD barrage against Bitcoin continued into this week when two high ranking members of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a blog post on Monday calling adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender as “a step too far”. In the post the pair said that following the lead of El Salvador and treating Bitcoin on the same footing as dollars, euros, and pounds sterling presented “substantial risks to macro-financial stability, financial integrity, consumer protection, and the environment.”
On the same day, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to drop all her plans for the year and focus on regulating cryptocurrencies. In a letter to Yellen, Warren stated that she had become “increasingly concerned about the dangers cryptocurrencies pose to investors, consumers, and the environment in the absence of sufficient regulation in the United States.”
As a result of these concerns, Warren said, the authorities responsible should “act with urgency and use its statutory authority to address cryptocurrencies’ risks and ensure the safety and stability of our financial system.”
FUD? What FUD?
These not-so-subtle jibes against Bitcoin add to the slew of FUD that has come its way for some two months now, with criticism being directed at Bitcoin on a range of matters from its environmental footprint to its use by ransomware gangs. There have also been attempts to bring down the cryptocurrency industry in general by targeting the ecosystem’s biggest exchanges through regulatory threats, and even a claim that Tether is about to implode due to a U.S. investigation that related to its activities over four years ago.
And yet, after all that has come its way since May, Bitcoin has resolutely refused to remain under $30,000 for more than a few hours, despite all the ‘experts’ calling for its imminent death (again). Not even that, Bitcoin has to the most recent dip to $29,000 by rocketing up to $40,000 yesterday in defiance of all those who wish it ill. Bitcoin’s ability to throw off the FUD has rarely been tested more than it has in the past few weeks and, once again, proved that it simply doesn’t care.
