Crypto FUD Continues to Rise Amid Sanctions on Russia

Crypto FUDs are very common. On Mar. 12, 2022, CNN updated a story that features Eswar Prasad, a professor at the Dyson School of Economics and Management, stating several ‘facts’ on crypto. However, his ‘facts’ are just other FUDs on cryptocurrency, and people deserve to know how cryptos work.

This occurrence is widespread as many still lack a deep understanding of the innovation. However, it is best to provide the correct and unbiased information as FUDs can cost an investor more than their funds only.

CNN Features Crypto FUDs in a Report on Russia’s Sanctions

CNN updated a piece that featured Eswar Prasad, a Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management professor, commenting on Russian sanctions. Russia has been isolated economically by much of the world economy for invading Ukraine. The sanction has affected the ruble greatly, making it lose its value by over 40%.

The fall of the ruble’s price has rekindled a debate on centralized fiat and cryptocurrency, which has been ongoing for over a decade. The story by CNN features a Q&A session done between their reporter and Prasad on Email. The reporter sought answers to several questions from Prasad, who has published a book “The Future of Money.” 

He began by asking Prasad about cryptocurrency and his book and how the sanctions on Russia have devalued the ruble. He inquired about Prasad’s take on how the world will coordinate its business after the current episode.

Crypto FUDs Featured in CNN’s Story

In his answer, Prasad talked about the sanctions biting down on the Russian economy and how the ruble is falling as the USD remains strong. Prasad also diverged into virtual coins naming Bitcoin as a ‘failed’ means of exchange and becoming speculative. 

This one alone is FUD as Bitcoin is currently no 15 in the list of the most valuable currencies in the world. Today, Bitcoin’s total trading volume was $16,305,491,082 with a total market cap of $742,493,310,023 and a circulating supply of 18,981,356 BTC out of a total of 21M BTC coins. Classifying BTC as failed is an underrating considering this impressive record.

The reporter also asked Prasad how Russia would turn to crypto to circumvent the imposed sanctions. Prasad responded that Russia wouldn’t benefit from cryptocurrencies as they are dependent on fiat for transactions. 

While cryptos can be converted to fiat and back, it is wrong to generalize it as ‘they rely on fiat’. Crypto can be exchanged directly between individuals through P2P transactions. P2P transactions can be conducted away from exchanges or any other financial institution.

The reporter also inquired if there are any other reasons besides patrolling bad actors to regulate crypto. He also asked Prasad to suggest how governments should tackle crypto regulation. While explaining the essence of crypto regulation, Prasad claimed that the US government would lead the world in guiding the crypto industry. This claim is misleading as cryptos are optimized to work in a decentralized manner and do not need the government to control their transactions.

The reporter also asked him to touch on the US financial sector and the probability of a digital dollar. Prasad claimed that the US dollar would become less important with time as crypto encroaches. He also touched on the digital dollar while the reporter asked him about the most important message on the future of money per his book. He claimed that adopting such kinds of money (digital money) is risky.

He added that digital economies might erode confidentiality and cause a more significant intrusion of business and governments in the financial landscape. This claim is one of the biggest FUDs as cryptocurrency decentralizes power, and no one can control its operations, including businesses and governments. They are also more confidential than the traditional financial systems. These are some of the problems of the traditional dollar and cannot feature in a digital one.

FUDs are common in cryptocurrency but it’s best to use reliable sites and learn to DYOR before concluding any stated ‘fact’ from any source.