Fiat Defectors
People Who All of a Sudden Think Bitcoin is Cool
Submit a new Fiat defector!
Donald Trump – Former US President
Before: “Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam” (June 2021, Source)
After: Launches and sells NFT “trading cards” with his images (December 2022, Source)
Bill Gates – Co-founder of Microsoft
Before: “I agree I would short it if there was an easy way to do it” (May 2018, Source)
After: “I’m not short Bitcoin…I’ve taken a neutral view” (February 2021, Source)
Jordan Belfort – The Wolf of Wallstreet
Before: Tells Bitcoin investors to “Get out if you don’t want to lose all of your money” (July 2018, source)
After: Becomes a self-proclaimed Crypto-guru (April 2021, source)
Kevin O’Leary – Shark Tank Investor
Before: Calls Bitcoin ‘Garbage’ and ‘Useless’ (May 2019, Source)
After: Becomes spokesman for FTX (August 2021, Source)
Janet Yellen – US Secretary of the Treasury
Before: Warns about the uses and implications of bitcoins (February 2021, source
After: Admits crypto plays a significant role (April 2022, source
Ken Griffin – Hedge Fund Billionaire
Before: Calls cryptocurrencies “a jihadist call” against the dollar (October 2021, source)
After: Says “I haven’t been right on this call” about crypto (March 2022, source)
Larry Fink – CEO BlackRock
Before: Calling Bitcoin an ‘index of money laundering’ (October 2017, source)
After: Acknowledges that Bitcoin could evolve into a “global market” (December 2020, source)
Jamie Dimon – CEO JPMorgan Chase
Before: “It’s a fraud” ( talking about Bitcoin) (September 2017, source)
After: JP Morgan creates a new position dubbed Head of Crypto-Assets Strategy and appoints Oliver Harris to the role (May 2018 ,source)
Christine Lagarde – Head of IMF
Before: “I think the banking industry has quite a few good days ahead of it” (November 2015, source)
After: “I think that we are about to see massive disruptions,” (October 2017, source)
Bruno Le Maire – French minister of Economy
Before: “We want a stable economy: we reject the risks of speculation and the possible financial diversions linked to bitcoin,” (January 2018, source)
After: “We agree that crypto-assets can be very interesting for everyone. And we – obviously – are in favor of blockchain technology, which can provide very good support to financial assets in Europe or anywhere in the world.” (March 2018, source)
George Soros – Billionaire
Before: “Cryptocurrency is a misnomer and is a typical bubble, which is always based on some kind of misunderstanding,” (January 2018, source)
After: Grants ‘green light’ to his investment fund to start trading in Cryptocurrencies & Bitcoin (April 2018, source)
Mark Cuban – Billionaire Entrepreneur and Shark Tank Star
Before: “Nope, I haven’t invested in Bitcoin yet — I go up and down on it,”(January 2017, source)
After: Tweets to his 7M fans “I just subscribed to Inside Bitcoin, and you should too!” (June 2017, source)
Thomas Peterffy – Interactive Brokers chairman
Before: “For the first time, I am extremely scared,” (Expressed in regards to Bitcoin’s volatility) (November 2017, source)
After: “I think that bitcoin being listed on two reputable exchanges gives a great deal of reputation to the product itself and I think as a result it will become even more popular than it’s been before,” (December 2017, source)
Bryan Durkin – CME President
Before: “I really don’t see us going forward with a futures contract in the very near future.” (September 2017, source)
After: CME plans to launch Bitcoin futures by the end of 2017 ( October 2017, source)
Peter Schiff – CEO at Euro Pacific Capital
Before: “Here’s the problem, people are advocating the use of Bitcoins as if it’s a form of money, but it can’t be. Because bitcoins do not represent a store of value. You don’t know what bitcoins are going to be worth next week, next year, in five years….” (May 2014, source)
After: Accepts Bitcoin as payment on his precious metals company. (May 2014, source)
Jay Clayton – SEC Chairman
Before: Issues a warning to cryptocurrency investors (December 2017, source)
After: “Distributed ledger technology has incredible promise for the financial industry.” (April 2018, source)
Joe Weisenthal – Former executive editor of Business Insider
Before: “Bitcoin is a joke” (November 2013, source)
After: “First of all, it’s wrong to say that Bitcoin has no value. There’s prima facie evidence that this is untrue.” (December 2013, source)
Augustin Carstens – GM of Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
Before: Sees ‘no value’ in issuing digital currency (March 2019, source)
After: “it might be that it is sooner than we think that there is a market and we need to be able to provide central bank digital currencies.” (June 2019, source)
Edward Snowden – Former NSA security consultant, whistle-blower
Before: “…One day capital-B Bitcoin will be gone, but as long as there are people out there who want to be able to move money without banks, cryptocurrencies are likely to be valued.” (November 2018, source)
After: Admits buying Servers with BTC to Protect Privacy (June 2019, source)
Tyler Cowen – Bloomberg Opinion writer and economist
Before: “Imagine you hold a currency which, over the next period will either double or halve in value. […] What a good deal that is!” (April 2013, source)
After: “Bitcoin Is (Probably) Here to Stay” (June 2019, source)
Ray Blanco – Agora, Financial editor
Before: “Bitcoin itself, it’s doomed. The end is near. Soon as Congress has a reason, they figure out how to shut it down. You mark my words. Too many banks have too much to lose. And if we know one thing, it’s that big banks and Congress are part of the same beast” (May 2017, Source)
After: “Blockchain and cryptocurrency tech is here to stay. The changes we’ve seen so far are just the start. My position’s evolved. Yours should too, if it hasn’t already.” (October 2017, Source)
Mark T. Williams – Finance teacher at Boston University
Before: Predicted Bitcoin would trade for less than $10 by June 2014 (December 2913, Source)
After: “Bitcoin has provided investors with massive returns in 2017 as a one-way space rocket, finally attracting the attention of large hedge fund speculators.” (November 2017, Source)
Timothy Sykes – Penny stock trader and entrepreneur
Before: “Bitcoin is nothing more than a virtual casino and perhaps the market dynamics of this fast-growing casino are saying that you should buy and hold Bitcoin, as the chart and price action suggests, but it is also the single most volatile and dangerous casino you’ll ever visit as any day the entire thing could collapse under regulations or hackers.” (November 2013, Source)
After: Writes a post in which he promotes a guide on how to trade in Bitcoin. (May 2016, Source)
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