In an interview with CNBC, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has said that President Donald Trump’s criticisms of crypto can only be good for the industry.
In a series of tweets on July 11, US President Donald Trump revealed that he is “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, after which the President started to criticize Facebook’s Libra. According to Trump Facebook should be subject to federal banking regulations.
The tweet from Donald Trump about Bitcoin:
I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019
Although Trump’s tweets about Bitcoin are not positive, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao believes they are good for the crypto space. Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Zhao said that instead of damaging crypto, the President’s tirade about Bitcoin was harmless and that it only draws more interest to the industry.
Changpeng Zhao commented:
“Trump so far has not done anything positive or negative, he’s just said he’s not a fan. The fact that he tweeted about it, and the president of the United States is talking about cryptocurrency, it’s a good thing.”
Furthermore, Zhao believes that even if the United States government decides to ban cryptocurrency, which according to CZ would be the “worst case scenario”, it wouldn’t shatter the industry.
Changpeng Zhao said:
“Cryptocurrency will survive regardless of any one country. Most countries that try to ban Bitcoin cause their citizens to want cryptocurrency more.”
Changpeng Zhao is not alone in his opinion that the tweets from Donald Trump are good for the crypto space. Brian Armstrong, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, expressed a similar sentiment towards a President discussing bitcoin:
Achievement unlocked! I dreamt about a sitting U.S. president needing to respond to growing cryptocurrency usage years ago. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”. We just made it to step 3 y'all. https://t.co/N3tzUKELaK
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) July 12, 2019