‘Fiat, Debt, Bitcoin, Merit’ Jimmy Song Sings Apex Crypto’s Praises at LaBitConf 2022: Interview – FTX Token (FTT/USD), Bitcoin (BTC/USD)

The 10th annual Latin American Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference (LaBitConf) 2022November 11th and 12th in Buenos Aires, Argentina, offers a bright light of optimism in the midst of a harsh crypto winter. The event offers presentations by more than 120 international speakers, including Elizabeth Stark, Michael Saylorand Vitalik Buterin.

At the event, Benzinga caught up with another notable speaker, Jimmy Song, a Bitcoin educator, developer and entrepreneur, and the author of “Programming Bitcoin” and “The Little Bitcoin Book.” Song is also a certain Bitcoin Maxi.

He tweeted“Reminder: “Bitcoin Moderates” told you to put your money into FTX and BlockFi. Do you still think it’s the Maximalists who are toxic?”

The last one FTX exchange FTT/USD debacle has had a major impact Bitcoin BTC/USD, which hit a new 2022 low below $16,000, as well as crushing FTT by 46.49%. The ripple effect also hurt Solana SOL/USD which lost 60% of its value in just 24 hours.

When asked about his presentation on the benefits of BTC vs. fiat currency, Song replied: “I gave a speech about Fiat versus Bitcoin, a kind of mentality shift that society takes when you go for fiat, which is based on debt, and Bitcoin, which is based on merit. And these two things have many downstream effects.”

Also read: ‘That’s what ended up breaking it’: Vitalik Buterin tells Benzinga what broke FTX, why Solana, Ethereum didn’t fail

Song believes in Bitcoin as a superior alternative to fiat and other cryptocurrencies, and believes its strength is crucial in Latin America.

“I think you see a lot of corruption and cronyism in Latin America. Just look at the official exchange rate for the US dollar vs. the Argentine peso versus the exchange rate on the blue market. There is a big difference because Central Bank of Argentina wants capital control.” Song said.They basically steal from people who switch to the official rate. That is what central banks have been doing for a long time.”

He advocates official acceptance of BTC as a global currency, arguing that it is more stable than fiat and immune to government control.

“I think people in Latin America have it better than most because there are currency changes, and two-thirds of your savings are gone. We are trending with the US dollar, but the USD has not done well either. The key is with Bitcoin, you don’t have to trust anyone. You can verify everything yourself. The moment you trust, you open a security hole where your wealth can be seized.”

Song has little faith in altcoins, which he sees as a similar risk to fiat.

“When you hold Argentine pesos, you trust the Argentine government. But if you’re in Cardano, you trust Charles Hoskinson. If you hold a BNB coin, you trust CZ. What the hell is the difference? You just trust another person instead of Argentine central bankers?”

Song’s solution is simple – a trustless system based on BTC.

“Don’t trust – verify. If you trust someone else, you can get screwed.”