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The Dark Catalyst for a Bitcoin Price Rally – DL News
- A new conflict could test the case for Bitcoin as a hedge against instability.
- Venezuela and Lebanon have also already turned to cryptocurrencies due to hyperinflation.
Conflicts thousands of miles away could test whether people in crypto-savvy countries truly consider Bitcoin “digital gold.”
Noelle Acheson, author of “Crypto is Macro Now,” She said disputed elections in Venezuela and fears that the war in Gaza could spill over into Lebanon “could impact the price of BTC.”
Geopolitical instability may push investors toward “safe haven” assets like gold, which has risen 1% since July 26.
“Citizens of Venezuela and Lebanon are very familiar with cryptocurrencies as a payment mechanism and store of value,” Acheson wrote.
Both are small markets, the analyst acknowledged. But if people there turn to Bitcoin as tensions rise, “non-speculative use cases will be noticed,” he wrote.
The Venezuelan economy has collapsed under the leadership of leftist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
In the midst of the crisis, normal Venezuelans struggling to survive and the government itselfHit by US and EU sanctions, they have turned to cryptocurrencies, according to News relationships.
Maduro has declared victory in elections held on Sunday. But the opposition party has data released which, he says, proves that he won by a landslide, the New York Times reported.
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Leaders of both parties have called on their followers to protest.
In the Middle East, a rocket killed 12 children and teenagers in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory long occupied by Israel.
Israel blamed the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, which denied any responsibility.
But the attack has fueled long-standing fears that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza could morph into a broader regional conflict.
The United States is trying to dissuade Israel from a retaliatory strike against the Lebanese capital Beirut, News reported Monday.
Like Venezuelans, Lebanese have also turned to cryptocurrencies to survive an economy hit by hyperinflation.
In Lebanon, wealthy individuals use stablecoin brokers to move their money, DL News reported last year. Brokers, in turn, use USDT on Tron.
In a conversation overheard by DL Newsa top-tier USDT provider, told Nader Dirany, co-founder of OTC exchange Buy Bitcoin Lebanon, that it processes about $20 million in transactions each month.
The dealer, who preferred to remain anonymous, said eight or 10 other people were handling similar volumes.
Aleks Gilbert is DL NewsDeFi Correspondent from New York. You can reach him at aleks@dlnews.com.