Bitcoin
The Obscure Catalyst for a Bitcoin Price Surge – DL News
- A new conflict could test Bitcoin’s thesis as a hedge against instability.
- Venezuela and Lebanon have already turned to cryptocurrencies amid hyperinflation.
Conflicts thousands of miles away could test whether people in cryptocurrency-savvy countries truly consider Bitcoin to be “digital gold.”
Noelle Acheson, author of “Crypto is Macro Now,” he said a disputed election in Venezuela and fears that the war in Gaza could spread to Lebanon “will likely affect the price of BTC.”
Geopolitical instability could send investors rushing into “safe” assets such as gold, which is up 1% since July 26.
“Citizens of Venezuela and Lebanon are well acquainted with cryptocurrency as a payment mechanism and store of value,” Acheson wrote.
Both are small markets, the analyst acknowledged. But if people there turn to Bitcoin as tensions rise, “non-speculative use cases will emerge,” she wrote.
Venezuela’s economy has collapsed under the leadership of leftist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
In the midst of the crisis, ordinary venezuelans struggling to survive and the the government itselfhit by US and EU sanctions, have turned to cryptocurrencies, according to Reuters reports.
Maduro declared victory in the elections held on Sunday. But the opposition party data released which, he says, shows that he won overwhelmingly, the New York Times reported.
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Leaders from both parties called on their followers to protest.
In the Middle East, a rocket killed 12 children and teenagers in the Golan Heights, Syrian territory long occupied by Israel.
Israel blamed the Lebanon-based terrorist organization Hezbollah, which denied responsibility.
But the attack fueled long-standing fears that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza could spiral into a wider regional conflict.
The US is trying to dissuade Israel from a retaliatory strike against the Lebanese capital Beirut, Reuters reported on Monday.
Like Venezuelans, Lebanese people have used cryptocurrencies to survive in an economy suffering from hyperinflation.
In Lebanon, wealthy individuals use stablecoin brokers to move their money, DL News reported last year. Brokers, in turn, use USDT on Tron.
In a conversation overheard by DL NewsA top-tier USDT provider told Nader Dirany, co-founder of OTC exchange Buy Bitcoin Lebanon, that he was processing around $20 million in transactions every month.
The trader, who wished to remain anonymous, said eight to 10 other individuals were dealing with similar volumes.
Aleks Gilbert is DL News‘ New York-based DeFi correspondent. You can reach him at aleks@dlnews.com.