Personal finance expert and best-selling author Dave Ramsey says he agrees with Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett regarding bitcoin. Viewing the crypto as a currency whose value is based on “thin air,” Ramsey stressed: “I wouldn’t wish bitcoin investments on somebody I really dislike.” Dave Ramsey on Bitcoin: ‘It’s Still Thin Air’ Personal finance guru […]
Bitcoin News
Musk on ‘Massive Incentive’ to Get Money Out of Banks, Dave Ramsey Dismisses De-Dollarization Fears, BTC Network Congestion Eases, and More — Week in Review
Twitter CEO Elon Musk has shared what he calls a “massive incentive” to get money out of bank accounts, noting “bank depositor flight will accelerate to extreme levels, even for banks that are ‘too big to fail.’” Personal finance coach and author Dave Ramsey, for his part, thinks that de-dollarization fears are overblown. In crypto news, Bitcoin’s network congestion issues began to ease this week. All this and more just below, in the latest Bitcoin.com News Week in Review.
Elon Musk Shares ‘Massive Incentive to Move Money out of Bank Accounts’
Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has shared a “massive incentive” to move money out of bank accounts, citing a significant interest rate gap created by the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve. “As more people & companies realize this, bank depositor flight will accelerate to extreme levels, even for banks that are ‘too big to fail,’” Musk warned.
Dave Ramsey Dismisses De-Dollarization Concerns — Says BRICS Currency, Chinese Yuan Can’t Take Down US Dollar
Personal finance expert and best-selling author Dave Ramsey has dismissed de-dollarization concerns and the prospects of a BRICS currency, the Chinese yuan, or the Russian ruble displacing the U.S. dollar in international trade. “They don’t have the muscle to take down the dollar,” he stressed.
Fed Reveals 722 Banks Reported Unrealized Losses Over 50% of Capital as Concerns Over US Banking Crisis Grow
The U.S. Federal Reserve has revealed that 722 banks reported unrealized losses exceeding 50% of their capital at the end of the third quarter of 2022. “Rising interest rates are creating significant unrealized losses in investment securities and in some cases depressing tangible equity,” according to the Fed’s Division of Supervision and Regulation.
Bitcoin Network Starts to Clear Congestion, Onchain Fees Drop by 90%
On May 7, 2023, the Bitcoin network was plagued with an overwhelming 500,000 unconfirmed transactions, causing a major bottleneck in the system. However, the good news is that the congestion has been clearing, resulting in a significant reduction in onchain fees.
What are your views on this week’s stories? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below.
Dave Ramsey Dismisses De-Dollarization Concerns — Says BRICS Currency, Chinese Yuan Can’t Take Down US Dollar
Personal finance expert and best-selling author Dave Ramsey has dismissed de-dollarization concerns and the prospects of a BRICS currency, the Chinese yuan, or the Russian ruble displacing the U.S. dollar in international trade. “They don’t have the muscle to take down the dollar,” he stressed.
Dave Ramsey on De-Dollarization and Challenges From Alternative Currencies
Personal finance guru and Ramsey Solutions CEO Dave Ramsey answered a question about de-dollarization in an episode of “The Dave Ramsey Show,” aired last week. Ramsey is an eight-time national best-selling author who sold more than 11 million copies. A self-proclaimed personal money management expert, he calls himself “America’s trusted voice on money.”
Zack from Alabama asked him:
I’m reading more and more about de-dollarization and countries moving away from the U.S. dollar as their basis of international trade. Will this affect the strength of the dollar, and should I be concerned about how I’m saving and investing as a result of this?
Ramsey began by telling the Alabama man that he is “spending too much time on the internet” and has gotten into a conspiracy theory about the demise of the U.S. dollar. Regarding countries moving away from the USD for international trade, Ramsey said China, Russia, and Brazil “are the three main players in this.”
He stressed, “They already don’t use the U.S. dollar as their basis of international trade,” emphasizing that all three countries have their own currencies and “there’s a conversion rate” between each of those currencies and the U.S. dollar. The self-proclaimed personal finance guru opined: “The three largest countries … are talking about bringing in some of the oil countries in the Middle East … they’re trying to come up with one currency that they all use.” The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are working to create a common currency that will reduce their reliance on the USD.
Ramsey noted that the new, common currency they come up with would be used for international trade and “converted back and forth to dollars much like Europe did with the euro which, by the way, kind of didn’t work.” He added: “These countries — if they did all agree to use one currency, it would be much like when Europe went to the euro and then that’s going to exchange for the dollar back and forth.”
He continued:
Are those countries going to be able to devalue the dollar by doing that? No. Because while they do take up a lot of land mass, they do not take up a lot of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the world.
“The United States still is the vast majority of the gross domestic product of the world, still. China’s is big, Russia is basically horrible, and Brazil is in a failed economy, like times 10, and it’s tiny as far as economics go,” he continued. “When you put them all together, they don’t have the muscle to take down the dollar. They just don’t, mathematically. It’s arithmetic. They just don’t have it.”
Ramsey further said: “Now, what they are going to do if they all do put it together, it’s not a de-dollarization. It’s not doing away with the dollar. They’ve created their own currency. They’re still going to have to trade with the 800-pound gorilla which be us, and you’re going to have to trade with us in dollars, so whatever little currency you create over there in your little fantasy world that you live in, you still going to have to trade it for dollars, so it’s not going to take down the dollar.”
Mocking the size of Brazil, Ramsey said: “When you look at the math, it’s humorous.” As for Russia, he said that it’s “a huge land mass” but “their economic production is pitiful.” In conclusion, Ramsey said:
Am I worried about this? Absolutely not. Absolutely zero, because Russia is pitiful and China has no labor force.
Noting that China’s “labor force is aging out because they stopped having babies legally,” Ramsey stressed: “They have no young labor force coming on.”
Many people do not share Ramsey’s view, warning that a common BRICS currency could erode the U.S. dollar’s dominance. Among them is a former White House economist, who recently said that if the BRICS uses only its common currency for international trade, “they would remove an impediment that now thwarts their efforts to escape dollar hegemony.” A Swedish university professor has cautioned that Saudi Arabia joining the BRICS group would accelerate the use of the Chinese yuan as a trading currency. A former Morgan Stanley economist expects the world to evolve from a unipolar reserve currency world to a tripolar world — with the U.S. dollar, the Chinese yuan, and the euro as dominant currencies.
Do you agree with Dave Ramsey about de-dollarization and that a BRICS currency or the Chinese yuan cannot erode the U.S. dollar’s dominance? Let us know in the comments section below.
Radio Host Dave Ramsey Warns Bitcoin Investor of His “Vegas Problems”
Dave Ramsey told a caller, seeking advice on his Bitcoin holdings, he has “Vegas problems.” Offering his advice on what he would do, the radio host unceremoniously recommended the caller cash out tomorrow.
“You’ve got Vegas problems, man. You walked up to the slot machine, put a quarter in and it dumped a bunch of quarters out and now you have this temptation to think that’s a plan. And thus is the problem with anything that is an extremely volatile asset…”
Bitcoin is Benefiting Everyday People
Ray from Kentucky got more than he bargained for when calling into The Dave Ramsey Show. Explaining his situation, Ray said in late 2019, his income tripled, and throughout the following year, he focused intently on paying off his debt. Currently, he has balances owed on just a car and a house.
Ray also mentioned he bought Bitcoin during that period, and his holdings are now worth about 0k. While substantial, Ray said it isn’t enough to pay off both the car and house. He asked Ramsey what he would do in this situation.
“It’s ballooned into this huge account now worth roughly 0k. So one of the things I want to do with it is obviously pay off the car, but it’s not quite enough to pay off the house.”
In 2020, the price of Bitcoin ranged from .7k at its lowest following the “Corona Crash” in March. To k at its peak going into 2021.
Despite the 649% ROI that Ray disclosed, as well as the expectation of further price appreciation, Ramsey, in no uncertain terms, told Ray, if it were him, he would take the money and run. Adding, Bitcoin is not something he would be buying in the first place.
Isn’t The Crypto Narrative Changing?
Ramsey’s views on Bitcoin are typical of many, particularly those born in the Baby Boomer years, and perhaps to a lesser extent, the Gen Xs. But it’s getting harder to dismiss Bitcoin as each day passes.
Coinbase is scheduled to debut on the Nasdaq on April 14. As a significant crypto company going mainstream, some see this event as the defining spark in legitimizing Bitcoin.
The FT hinted at this by giving a rundown of the first quarter financials of Coinbase, saying the earnings show that traditional finance can no longer ignore the crypto industry.
“Twitter folk quickly forged a consensus that such figures prove not only that Delaware-incorporated company is a profit-minting machine but that crypto itself can no longer be ignored by traditional finance.”
But changing hearts and minds will not happen overnight, especially not from a stock listing. Nor should it.
While Ramsey may have good intentions, he may also be fixated by his extreme biases to the detriment of his audience. It’s the extreme positions, on either side, that turns everyone else off.
Maybe it’s time to accept that not everyone gets it or even wants to get it.
Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com