Edward Snowden, the former U.S. intelligence agent-turned-whistleblower, predicts that a national government will be revealed this year to have been buying Bitcoin BTC/USD without disclosing the fact.
What Happened: Snowden said as much in a viral post on X (formerly Twitter), calling Bitcoin the "modern replacement for gold."
Snowden has been vocal about his support for Bitcoin. In a Feb. 27 poll, Snowden inquired his followers whether they owned "any amount of Bitcoin whatsoever," to which 43.3% voted with yes.
Previously, Snowden has called Bitcoin “the most significant monetary advance since the creation of coinage”.
During Super Bowl LVIII, Snowden posted that he was watching the Bitcoin chart instead of the game. He has also vowed to never claim that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin's inventor, unless he was trolling or using it as a "duress code."
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Why It Matters: Self-proclaimed "perma bull" Zack Voell responded with a tweet quoting headlines about states like Bhutan and North Korea engaging in Bitcoin mining.
Indeed, while El Salvador remains the only country to use Bitcoin as legal tender — the Central African Republic has quietly walked back its own adoption — Bitcoin is being slowly accepted as a means of payment across the world.
For example, a rental contract has been signed in Argentina using Bitcoin as currency, as well as more Bitcoin circular economies popping up across the globe.
While Snowden's prediction seems like an outside chance at the moment, Bitcoin's sustained rally past the $60,000 mark and price predictions of up to $200,000 may keep naysayers on their toes.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $60,400, up 5.7% over the past 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
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