Sri Lanka Against Bitcoin Adoption, Rejects Draper’s Anti-Corruption Speech

During a recent visit to Sri Lanka, American billionaire Tim Draper floated the idea of ​​adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender for fight against corruption which has contributed to hyperinflation in the island country. However, a key Sri Lankan authority – central bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe – believed that it would worsen the country’s economic situation.

Taking time out from a TV shoot in Sri Lanka, Draper sat down with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Weerasinghe to recommend Bitcoin as a viable option out of financial trouble.

During the meetingDraper highlighted a major concern regarding Sri Lanka:

“Have you seen Sri Lanka in the news? It is known as the capital of corruption. A country notorious for corruption will be able to keep perfect records with the adoption of Bitcoin.

While recommending the use of “decentralized currency” to the head of the central bank of Sri Lanka, he received a short response “we do not accept”. Weerasinghe further stated:

“100% Bitcoin adoption will never be a reality in Sri Lanka.”

Instead, Weerasinghe believed that having Sri Lanka’s own fiat currency was essential for monetary policy independence and would ensure effective inclusion and disburse electronic welfare payments.

“We don’t want to aggravate the crisis by introducing Bitcoin,” Weerasinghe concluded.

Related: Australia Introduces Crypto Asset Classification

MicroStrategy, a software analytics company co-founded by Michael Saylorshared their plans to continue offering BTC trading services despite an unrealized loss of $1.3 billion in 2022.

During an earnings conference call on February 2, MicroStrategy Chief Financial Officer Andrew Kang said:

“We may consider pursuing additional trades that may take advantage of Bitcoin price volatility or other market disruptions that are consistent with our long-term Bitcoin strategy.”

According to Kang, MicroStrategy held 132,500 BTC (worth $1.84 billion) as of December 31, 2022. Of this lot, 14,890 BTC was held directly by the company and the rest by its subsidiary MacroStrategy.