During a recent trip to Sri Lanka, American billionaire Tim Draper proposed using Bitcoin as a legal tender to combat the corruption that caused the island nation’s hyperinflation. Central bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe, a significant Sri Lankan figure, thought that doing so would aggravate the nation’s economic position Draper met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Weerasinghe during a TV shoot in Sri Lanka to suggest Bitcoin as a practical solution for solving financial issues.
Sri Lanka Faces Multiple Roadblocks Towards Accepting Bitcoin
Draper raised a significant issue during the meeting that directly affects Sri Lanka where he mentioned that the country had a negative image before the world as a country rife with corruption. The inclusion of a cryptocurrency in such a climate would make sure that the authorities in the country would never be able to keep a hold of documents or records. The head of Sri Lanka’s central bank responded with a curt “we don’t accept” when he suggested utilizing “decentralized currency.” The Governor of the Central Bank went on to state that the adoption of Bitcoin will never be a reality in the country.
Weerasinghe thought that having Sri Lanka’s own fiat currency was essential for the island nation’s independence in monetary policy and would promote effective inclusion and the distribution of electronic welfare payments. Michael Saylor was a co-founder of the software analytics firm MicroStrategy, which announced plans to keep providing BTC trading services despite suffering an unrealized loss of $1.3 billion in 2022. As of December 31, 2022, MicroStrategy possessed 132,500 BTC, which was worth $1.84 billion, according to Kang. 14,890 BTC of the total were held by the company directly, and MacroStrategy had the remaining BTC.
