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What Are Bitcoin’s Critics Really Afraid of?

A recent opinion piece in The Nation by TIME Business reporter Sam Gustin tells readers to “Be Afraid.” He’s warning them about cryptocurrency and Donald Trump. In it, the author quotes Nobel Prize-winning economist and Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz, saying: “There’s an enormous risk of self-dealing here.” Economist’s Warning About Trump, Cryptocurrency “The danger is not only conflicts of interest, but a mindset among Trump and his cronies in which they don’t even understand the concept of conflicts of interest,” Stiglitz said. “The irony is that here you have a president who was elected on an allegedly ‘populist’ platform engaging in the most massive pro-billionaire, pro-wealth redistribution in US history.” “The result, experts say, will be higher prices, reduced consumer protections, and deeper economic inequality in the United States,” Gustin writes. But is that really true? Is it true that cryptocurrency is transferring the most massive sum of wealth in history from the middle class to billionaires? Bitcoin’s Populist Appeal If anything, crypto’s most die-hard advocates would argue that the traditional finance system, based on credit, redistributes the most to billionaires. Because it constantly revalues debt with cheaper dollars. Billionaires and their companies use the most debt-based instruments. Meanwhile, the ever-expanding money system causes prices to rise steadily. Crypto assets, on the other hand, cause lower prices by rewarding people for saving their money. The easy credit economy does reward businesses with large expense accounts to spend their money. Moreover, the Republican Party’s reckoning with crypto is helping to ensure consumer protections for those who want them. But that doesn’t leave out allowing more freedom for others. Many blockchain users are willing to take the risks that go along with pushing liquid financial markets and the Internet’s capability to their limits. As for economic inequality, it has been a complaint of voters for decades under traditional finance systems. Their benefits only seem to kick in at a certain economy of scale unreachable by most people. But that’s not so with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which have made the profits of market capitalism available to all participants equally at any level of participation. Bitcoin’s price was only $43,000 a year ago. But today, it’s more than twice that amount, trading at $103,000 on Saturday. That represents a gain of over 130% returns on investment for crypto buyers who purchased Bitcoin last January. The post What Are Bitcoin’s Critics Really Afraid of? appeared first on CryptoPotato . CoinOtag

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Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC Surges Past $102,000 As Markets Prepare For Trump Inauguration

Bitcoin (BTC) surged to an intraday high of $105,841 as an increasingly bullish cryptocurrency market sets itself up for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. The crypto industry expects positive developments and executive orders within Trump’s first few days in office. Trump Plans Slew Of Executive Orders Bitcoin (BTC) surged to its highest level of 2025 as the markets eagerly await Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Trump is reportedly planning over 100 executive orders on his first day in office, with some impacting Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market. With expectations building, BTC crossed $105,000 earlier in the day, rising to an intraday high of $105,841 before declining to its current level of $103,365. The flagship currency is up 1.50% over the past 24 hours and nearly 10% over the week. Trump’s executive orders are expected to cover several banking and crypto policies. The crypto industry has long complained about regulatory action under the Biden administration. Executives allege regulators pressured banks to cut off the digital asset industry from financial services and excessive enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It also campaigned against the SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, which required banks to report crypto it held as a liability on its balance sheet. Trump has also promised to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a crypto council and draft a clearer regulatory framework. Gensler Set To Step Down Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler will step down on Monday, after announcing his resignation in November. Gensler has been a thorn in the crypto industry, overseeing several enforcement actions against some of the biggest names in crypto, including Coinbase and Binance, alleging they functioned as unregistered brokers, clearinghouses, and securities. However, the crypto space also saw some positive developments under Gensler, with the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January. Trump announced Paul Atkins was his pick for SEC Chair. Atkins previously served as a Republican member of the SEC during the Bush administration. Trump wrote on Atkin’s appointment on his Truth Social account, stating, “Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations. He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.” Trump has also nominated David Sacks as the White House AI and Crypto Czar. Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis Bitcoin (BTC) has registered a marginal decline during the ongoing session as its momentum stalled around $106,000. If sellers continue to exercise control, BTC could slip below $100,000 again. BTC fell to an intraday low of $91,298 on Thursday after experiencing a significant decline last week. However, it recovered on Friday, rising 2.27% and settling at $94,818. The weekend was mixed as BTC registered a marginal drop on Saturday, followed by a marginal increase on Sunday to settle at $94,585. The current week began with BTC facing immense selling pressure as it plummeted below $90,000, falling to an intraday low of $89,397. However, buyers bought the dip, allowing BTC to recover, as it reclaimed $90,000 to settle at $94,492. Source: TradingView Market sentiment changed on Tuesday as BTC rose over 2% to go above the 20-day SMA and settle at $96,566. Bullish sentiment intensified on Wednesday as BTC rose almost 4% to move past the 50-day SMA and $100,000 to settle at $100,050. However, it was back in the red on Thursday, dropping to an intraday low of $97,094 before settling at $99,799. Bullish sentiment returned on Friday as BTC surged past $100,000 to an intraday high of $105,742. However, it lost momentum after reaching this level and ultimately settled at $103,732, an increase of almost 4%. The current session sees BTC down over 1% as sellers look to drive the price below $100,000. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. CoinOtag