Russia Sanctions Means Countries May Transition to Bitcoin Reserves - Pantera’s CEO
Both nation-states and private citizens around the world are likely to find it “very appealing” to keep control of their own money in light of the sanctions placed on Russia, and countries could start transitioning to bitcoin (BTC) for foreign reserves, Pantera Capital’s Dan Morehead has argued.
Morehead, the CEO and Co-Chief Investment Officer at Pantera Capital, wrote in his latest newsletter that,
"Countries may soon begin transitioning to bitcoin for foreign/cloud reserves. The ability to hold their own currency reserves will become very appealing to many nations and private citizens."
He added that bitcoin is attractive to ordinary citizens because they want to “protect themselves from the financial impact of their government/dictator’s decisions.”
For governments, meanwhile, Morehead stated that the recent Western-led sanctions against Russia have already proven that foreign reserves held in fiat currencies controlled by other countries are not as safe as previously assumed.
Notably, this realization is now coming after the Central Bank of Russia has been cut off from most of the USD 630bn of foreign reserves it held before the war.
This has caused a collapse in the value of the Russian ruble, in turn forcing the central bank to raise rates to 20%, which Morehead said “should crush the housing market.”
In addition, major Russian companies traded overseas have seen a total collapse in their share prices, while Russia’s domestic stock market still remains closed.
“Everyday Russian citizens are getting financially decimated as a result of their leadership’s decisions,” Morehead wrote.
The comments from Morehead came after the US and other countries said they would “freeze” assets owned by the Russian central bank in their
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