[2020-01-04] New crisis in the Middle East: Good for bitcoin, bad for the world

[Harlot]

Earlier this week we already seen fake news about BTC rising 24,000$ in Iran because of what happened but we all know we jave just got misinformed again by crypto news websites. So I got a feeling that if there are no real threats or threata that have already happened I don't see it affecting the price of Bitcoin since  there will be no demand shifts happening when there is no real war that will happen with US and Iran or the other countries involved.

[1715444121]

1715444121

[suzanne5223]

The last time i checked bitcoin was decentralized in nature while crisis in the Middle East is related to politics and i dont see that have to do with bitcoin price. Mind you, we're currently in a region where the crypto market are highly manipulated and it will be good if people dont misunderstand that as the reason behind the dump in price of bitcoin.
With that been said, crisis is not good but bad for us all and i hope two governments settle their dispute.

[cr1776]

The last time i checked bitcoin was decentralized in nature while crisis in the Middle East is related to politics and i dont see that have to do with bitcoin price. Mind you, we're currently in a region where the crypto market are highly manipulated and it will be good if people dont misunderstand that as the reason behind the dump in price of bitcoin.
With that been said, crisis is not good but bad for us all and i hope two governments settle their dispute.

It can impact the fiat price of bitcoin because smart people in the region will want to protect their assets (if they haven’t already) from what is happening- confiscation, destruction, capital controls, currency controls and the like. More demand means a higher price all else being equal.

[bbc.reporter]

I read, you guys argue about whether Bitcoin should be used as a speculative investment or "in a proper way", and this what came to mind. Every valuable object is actually used both ways. Take famous paintings, such as Leonardo da Vinci's, Paul Gauguin's etc., for example. Shouldn't all of them be used "as intended", so that people could look at them and be inspired for doing great things or something? Yet, they are mostly talked about today because some of them cost hundreds of millions USD. Same goes for cars, postage stamps, and even money, coins and paper, if they are collectibles. So, I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with BTC being also used as such.


Interchange by Willem de Kooning. Sold for $300 Million in September 2015.

It is an industry of scam for rich people. The dealers sell them overpriced paintings to hold as an investment to sell to a greater fool on a higher price.

This industry also has its own media news outlets, their own exchanges, its own community. I hope gentlemand is right about the cryptospace that the speculative investment phase is only temporary.

[hatshepsut93]

The last time i checked bitcoin was decentralized in nature while crisis in the Middle East is related to politics and i dont see that have to do with bitcoin price. Mind you, we're currently in a region where the crypto market are highly manipulated and it will be good if people dont misunderstand that as the reason behind the dump in price of bitcoin.
With that been said, crisis is not good but bad for us all and i hope two governments settle their dispute.

The idea behind Bitcoin's price being linked to this conflict is that if there will be war, it would damage the US economy and maybe even the global economy, so Bitcoin is a hedge against it. Traditional markets have already reacted to these events with oil and other commodities spiking in price, so people speculate that the same happened with Bitcoin.

[1Referee]

I hope gentlemand is right about the cryptospace that the speculative investment phase is only temporary.

It depends on what your definition is of the speculative investment phase being temporary. If we look at other legacy assets, they are mostly used for speculation. If there is no speculation, there is no liquidity. Bitcoin will eventually experience less volatility, but that doesn't mean people will stop treating it as a speculative investment. Nothing wrong with that.

Forex volumes globally easily top $10 trillion a day. If there was no speculative demand these volumes wouldn't be what they are today. People should stop looking at speculation as an obstacle or bad side effect of how new this space is. It's amazing what we see happen within crypto as we have new wealth distribution happening in front of our eyes.

[gentlemand]

I hope gentlemand is right about the cryptospace that the speculative investment phase is only temporary.

Maybe I should've rephrased that. I think speculation will likely be the prime mover forever but practical usage and savings will shore up what is currently a market filled with nothing else.

Gold's value is little but speculation but its sheer size gives it some solidity to dip into.

[bbc.reporter]

@gentlemand. However, is that what bitcoin's triumph should be? To become only a big market similar to gold? I reckon that it appears speculation has become the prime everything for the cryptospace. It is overregulated and overtaxed and coins are not accepted everywhere without conversion to fiat.

[alexeev.tosha0109@yandex.]

I can't notice a real correlation between crypto and geopolitical issue. Bitcoin is politically independent.

[veleten]

I can't notice a real correlation between crypto and geopolitical issue. Bitcoin is politically independent.

totally politically independent
to the extent that if it is banned in a certain country it doesn't affect it at all /sarcasm
there is always an influence , just do not overestimate the impact
the affected countries don't just drop everything they have been doing and start to buy bitcoin , but in Iran , for example , the capital flight increased dramatically
if this  escalates further and the countries start to exchange strikes , this could lead to a conflict that affects more than just two countries or the Middle East
and I agree that what they see as good for bitcoin aka increased price , is not necessarily a good thing at all

[Harlot]

I can't notice a real correlation between crypto and geopolitical issue. Bitcoin is politically independent.

totally politically independent
to the extent that if it is banned in a certain country it doesn't affect it at all /sarcasm
there is always an influence , just do not overestimate the impact

Independent? If they are independent from politics why are the hodlers and businessmen are pushing for favorable laws when it comes to crypto? Why are they asking for help when it comes to scams and hacks happening in the industry? Why are ICOs, STOs, and other projects needs to be regulated and permitted in some countries before they can even offer it? They aren't independent whatsoever as Bitcoin and crypto in general won't have the success it wants which is mass adoption if our governments are not being on our favor. So really geopolitical issues can affect the crypto industry so as the other industries as it affects the demand and supply of everything it also affects the psychology behind the investors' minds.

[Kakmakr]

I would much rather say that the tension in the Middle East is the perfect cover for Whales to trigger a pump in the market. If you have the ability to trigger a pump and you want this to go unnoticed, then you need some kind of "trigger" event to explain the sudden shift in the price.

Remember, the Whales only jump start the process, but the event and the ripple affect of the sudden increase or decrease in the price, is the actual driving factor of the new spike or dump in the price.

There are also very little institutional capital invested in Bitcoin at the moment, so most of this is driven by informal investments and people's personal investments.

[LeGaulois]

I would much rather say that the tension in the Middle East is the perfect cover for Whales to trigger a pump in the market. If you have the ability to trigger a pump and you want this to go unnoticed, then you need some kind of "trigger" event to explain the sudden shift in the price.

Remember, the Whales only jump start the process, but the event and the ripple affect of the sudden increase or decrease in the price, is the actual driving factor of the new spike or dump in the price.

There are also very little institutional capital invested in Bitcoin at the moment, so most of this is driven by informal investments and people's personal investments.

I don't understand this reasoning. Do they really care, the whales, to stay unnoticed and under the radar? For what? Especially when BTC is pseudo-anonymous, who cares? Many high transactions pop up daily on the blockchain.

Media outlets use everything possible to explain the trigger, from the forecast weather to the latest Lady Gaga underwear. Even when there is no trigger to look for. And of course, the mass has no problem to buy the stories, no matter what trigger is used.
Whales could do the same and pretend to use all kinds of triggers from the forecast weather to the latest Lady Gaga underwear.

[Getmon]

I can't notice a real correlation between crypto and geopolitical issue. Bitcoin is politically independent.

I agree with you, there is no connection between Bitcoin and geopolitical issue, and many people researching that Bitcoin is Independent, although some political cases affect the price of Bitcoin like a country Banned Bitcoin, but that doesn't have an impact forever.

If the issue is more than just simply geopolitical issues such as terrible war or economic embargo or over-inflation, there might be an effect of them to Bitcoin's price. But only if these issues are really reaching a full-scale degree. If not, I don't think Bitcoin's price will be significantly affected.

[Baoo]

Well, I have heard that Iran is holding a huge amount of BTC and maybe other crypto but I don't guess that they sold BTC when the crisis occured. Otherwise, I think that the crisis of middle east is controlled by U.S. That whole region is really rich with natural resources including Iraq , that's why some of  countries with great economic power want to exploit these resources just to achieve their goals. Furthermore, I guess that the crisis between Iran and U.S will have neither negative nor positive effect on Bitcoin's price. In fact, the whole comparison between this crisis and Bitcoin is completely wrong.