The Argentine businessman believes that Bitcoin is growing to become “a type of digital gold.” Barbieri assured that he has no savings in Bitcoin and rejects the idea of considering it a currency.
Pierpaolo Barbieri is the founder and CEO of Ualá, a payment service provider based in Argentina. He recently said that proponents of Bitcoin and other crypto-assets have been doing an excellent job of marketing. He considers that this has made many people in the world want to save a part of their savings that way.
The 33-year-old businessman, who has a degree in history and another in economics, spoke with Argentine digital newspaper Infobae. He gave his opinion on the economy of his country, the financial system in general, and his work in the company that he runs.
Regarding the use of Bitcoin (BTC) as a store of value, Barbieri noted that the marketing around it is excellent. However, he did not mention the characteristics that could make this cryptocurrency useful for this function. He did not even refer to its predefined issuance, its monetary policy that tends to be deflationary, or its immutable base code.
“When a person has a reserve of value, the rest of the people are the ones who define why it has that characteristic,” said Barbieri. The executive did not dismiss that the pioneering cryptocurrency has the potential for this function.
Barbieri also said that he believes that “Bitcoin is growing to become a type of digital gold.” He reported that he recently listened to Stanley Druckenmiller, who has been one of the best investors of the last 100 years. “He said that today Bitcoin is for millennials and centennials what gold was for many generations,” reported the CEO of Ualá.
“No One Will Make a Transaction in Bitcoin to Pay for a Coffee”
Barbieri stated that he has no savings in Bitcoin and explained that he does not see the possibility of Bitcoin becoming a currency. He argued that “no one will make a transaction in Bitcoin to pay for a coffee.” In previous weeks, the Argentine businessman similarly stated that “Bitcoin is not a currency and it never will be.”
The convenience of Bitcoin as a means of payment for small transactions has certainly decreased in recent years due to high fees. However, second-tier solutions like the Lightning network allow micropayments with negligible fees. That could help the crypto asset regain strength for the payment of goods and services.
The founder of Ualá said that “all financial assets run bubble risk” and Bitcoin does not escape this. He explained that there have been “zero global rates and huge financial asset price inflation in recent months.” However, he believes that “Bitcoin will possibly become a store of value, like a type of digital gold.”
Even though Barbieri is not in favor of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, he does not fail to recognize their potential as a store of value. He believes that the success of the first cryptocurrency is due to the excellent marketing that its advocates have been doing.
By Alexander Salazar
