In a recent visit to Sri Lanka, American billionaire Tim Draper floated the idea of adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender to fight corruption that contributes to hyperinflation in the island nation. However, the main authority of Sri Lanka – the governor of the central bank Nandalal Weerasinghe – believes that such actions will damage the economic situation of the country.
Taking time off from a TV shoot in Sri Lanka, Draper met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Weerasinghe to suggest Bitcoin as a viable option to get out of financial trouble.
During the meeting, Draper highlighted the main concerns of Sri Lanka:
“Have you seen Sri Lanka in the news? It is known as the capital of corruption. A country known for corruption will be able to keep perfect records with the adoption of Bitcoin.
When he suggested the use of a “decentralized currency” to the head of Sri Lanka’s central bank, he received a “not accepted” reply. Weerasinghe said again:
“100% adoption of Bitcoin will never be Sri Lanka’s reality.”
However, Weerasinghe believes that having Sri Lanka’s own fiat currency is critical to monetary-policy independence and will ensure the efficient inclusion and disbursement of electronic welfare payments.
“We don’t want to make the crisis worse by introducing Bitcoin,” Weerasinghe concluded.
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MicroStrategy, the software analytics company co-founded by Michael Saylor, has revealed plans to continue offering BTC trading services despite experiencing an unrealized loss of $1.3 billion in 2022.
During an earnings call on February 2, MicroStrategy’s chief financial officer, Andrew Kang, said:
“We may consider pursuing additional transactions that may take advantage of volatility in Bitcoin prices, or other market dislocations consistent with our long-term Bitcoin strategy.”
According to Kang, MicroStrategy holds 132,500 BTC (worth $1.84 billion) as of December 31, 2022. Of that amount, 14,890 BTC is held directly by the business and the rest by MacroStrategy subsidiaries.