The billionaire claims that Bitcoin does not generate profits and that it is “ridiculous” to think that it can be a salvation against inflation
American billionaire Mark Cuban stated that “there is nothing special” about El Salvador using Bitcoin as legal tender, because he must buy crypto assets in dollars anyway.
“You can tell me everything you want about El Salvador. But El Salvador has to buy its Bitcoins in dollars, like everyone else, right? So there is nothing special,” the businessman declared over the weekend to the specialized cryptocurrency media Crypto Banter, whose opinions were taken up by the Cointelegraph site on February 15.
Cuban, who is the owner of cinemas, president of a cable television network and also owner of the Mavericks (from Dallas) of the NBA, argued why it is not attractive for him to invest in Bitcoin, the cryptoactive that the government of El Salvador promotes and that it became legal currency in September 2021.
For the tycoon, also known as the “billionaire shark”, Bitcoin is not very useful and considers the idea that it can serve as a “shelter” against the different threats of inflation, that is, the rise in prices, to be “ridiculous”. product prices. Cuban believes that it is nothing more than a “marketing slogan”.
And precisely Salvadoran officials, such as the deputy of Nuevas Ideas, Alexia Rivas, believe that Bitcoin can be a relief measure against inflation. This is what the legislator tweeted on February 14:
Today is World Energy Day.
And crude is up 21% so far this year, reaching the highest price since September 2014.
Inflation increases in the world.
In El Salvador, that is why the President @nayibbukele bet on the #Economic freedom with the #bitcoin— Alexia Rivas???????? (@AlexiaRivasG1) February 14, 2022
The deputy’s tweet generated criticism on Twitter, as they questioned what the benefit of Bitcoin was for salvadorans in relation to the prices of basic products.
“Could you mention at least 5 points of how Bitcoin has protected the purchasing power of the working class against the inflation of the prices of the basic basket?” tweeted a user who identifies himself as Juan de la Cruz.
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Meanwhile, the tycoon revealed in the interview with Crypto Banter that he prefers to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC), since he considers that “you can begin to see the utility”, but not so with Bitcoin.
In fact, although this cryptocurrency has recovered in recent days and is trading around $43,000, in January it suffered a drop of almost 50% in value compared to November 2021. However, these price drops have not stopped the Salvadoran government to continue making Bitcoin purchases, even though this represents losses of public funds for the country.