/latest/2018/11/former-federal-reserve-chair-janet-yellen-receives-the-gift-of-bitcoin/
Former U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, an outspoken opponent of cryptocurrency, has just received her first satoshis.
After giving a strong anti-Bitcoin speech at the Canada Fintech Forum earlier this week, a Bitcoin advocate decided to send Yellen some bitcoin so she could experience it first hand. Will she be converted to the cult of cryptocurrency? That is yet to be determined, but it seems she’s already impressed.
Yellen has long been anti-Bitcoin. Her first run-in with Bitcoin was in 2017, when “Bitcoin Sign Guy” photobombed her on live TV with a sign that read: “Buy Bitcoin.” Since then, the cryptocurrency market has grown, and it seems she’s still considering it a bad idea. In her talk at the Canada Fintech Forum, she explains her current position:
I will just say outright I am not a fan, and let me tell you why. I know there are hundreds of cryptocurrencies and maybe something is coming down the line that is more appealing but I think first of all, very few transactions are actually handled by bitcoin, and many of those do take place on bitcoin are illegal, illicit transactions.
You can watch more of her speech on Twitter, posted by Francis Pouliot:
Janet Yellen: “I am not a fan of Bitcoin. Let me tell you why”.
Former Central-Banker-in-Chief proceeds to meticulous 5-minute rant against Bitcoin, robotically spewing scripted FUD talking points to Finance/Bank VIPs.
They’re scared. Buy Bitcoin.⚡https://t.co/kEvUlwUZfc
— Francis Pouliot (@francispouliot_) October 30, 2018
Bitcoin Gift
After this incident, Raz Suprovici, creator of Bitcoin gifting site Biterica, sent Janet Yellen $20 worth of BTC. He accomplished this by sending it to her publicly available university address, then using Biterica’s service to send her coins via email. Raz shared his email on Reddit, and even included Yellen’s response: “Thanks so much for the gift! Maybe ‘to know it’ will be ‘to love it.’”
Raz further explained his intentions, via CoinDesk:
People are afraid of the unknown. I was hoping that when she logged into her bitcoin wallet with her ID and password, she would see it’s just like a typical online bank account. The money she owns is there, in her control, ready to spend…I hope that this sparks her openness to the technology.
