Quote from: bobdk on October 17, 2019, 11:11:25 AM

The central idea that Brexit will harm BTC is not supported by the quote from Nicholas Gregory on which the article is based.

He says: Come 2020, we expect an increasingly populist and politically unstable world to cement the safe-haven status of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrenciesand if the central banks revert to ramping up the money printing all over again, the case for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin whose supply is capped will be further reinforced.

He seems to think Brexit will in fact be a good thing for bitcoin.

calling Bitcoin a "safe-haven" is somewhat misleading in the context....

Political instability leads to instability (i.e. falling in value) of the local currency. British people are in that situation as a consequence of Brexit (but sterling is not dropping like the bolivar or the turkish lira, a little perspective is in order)

In those circumstances, buying Bitcoin is a smart thing to do, as you are no longer exposed to exchange rate risk from your local currency (sterling in this case), and more importantly, it's quick and easy to do. British people cannot so easily set up a Euro (or USD) bank account, despite still being in the EU (or being the 51st US state Cheesy

). It's not impossible, but it takes time, effort, and risks the bank saying "we don't think you need this EUR bank account"; Bitcoin can't tell you you're not allowed to open an account.

But Bitcoin is simply the "cleanest dirty shirt", even if the British pound or the Turkish lira is falling through the floor, BTC does not have a stable exchange rate either. Don't be confused, Bitcoin only falls upwards, but it's a bumpy ride, and too much so for most people's nerves to take.

Bitcoin is a safe haven because of how difficult it is to take from the owner (i.e. impossible, if the owner is smart), not because of it's exchange rate. 100% guarantee of an unstable currency (BTC) is better than an 80% guarantee of a stable currency (GBP); if a GBP bank goes bust, you risk getting 0 anyway. When the currency with the 80% guarantee becomes unstable too, keeping 100% of something similarly risky looks decisively the better deal.