Since the inception of bitcoin, the participation of scammers and hackers in the crypto space has only increased. While methodologies varied from time to time, the aim of bad actors didn’t deviate from stealing as much crypto as possible. Recently, scammers going as far as possible crossed a line by approaching locals on the behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
By posing as a private secretary of Queen Elizabeth II, scammers posted letters to several yet selective locals. As per the letter, Queen Elizabeth II requested recipients to save the economy of Great Britain. Recipients were told that as Brexit will happen quickly and there’s no bilateral agreement with the European Union (EU), the economy of the UK will be at high risk.
Therefore, in order to sustain the economy, the UK government has to pay about £19 billion to the EU. However, unfortunately, only 82% of the total amount has been arranged while the remaining amount must be raised before 19 October 2019.
After explaining the critical situation of the region, the sender asks the recipient to contribute amounts in the range of £450,000 – £2,000,000 for saving the UK economy. In return for lending money, people were promised of 30% interest for the next 3 months along with the membership of Royal Warrant Holders Association.
It was specifically mentioned that all financial assistance should be provided with the help of bitcoin. A bitcoin wallet address where funds were to be sent was provided in the letter as well. To motivate citizens, even more, the letter elaborated that with the help of financial contributions, inflation and economy would be maintained for the next 10 years. In simple words, by paying the full amount to the EU, it was guaranteed that current levels of economy and inflation would be preserved and not changed for another decade.
Bitcoin scams and hacks take place every now and then. With time passing by, techniques used by bad actors are getting advanced. The fraudulent practices have expanded to such a great extent that it was previously estimated that bitcoin looted by bad actors was way more than possessed by bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
READ ALSO: Kate Winslet Strikes Bitcoin Scammers – Facebook Ads to Blame?
So, there’s no denying to the increasing illegal and fraudulent practices of scammers and hackers in the crypto space. However, preventing inflation and the economy from getting worse by paying the EU doesn’t hold true either. As there are several flaws in the financial system of the world, inflation can’t be controlled.
In today’s financial system, financial institutes such as banks circulate the fiat currency all over the world. As fiat isn’t decentralized like bitcoin, authorities administer complete control over fiat and manipulate it according to their best interests.
As banks are capable of printing as much money as they want, stopping the devaluation of money with time is impossible. Consequently, the answer to preventing infectious inflation from occurring isn’t fiat at all. Quite opposed to it, bitcoin, a digital asset not controlled or influenced by any authority, can fight inflation. Having a finite supply, bitcoin can’t be created as much as wanted. Talking with BlockPublisher, John Frigo, SEO Lead at My Supplement Store, said:
Theoretically Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation because there can only ever be at most 21 million Bitcoins, unlike the US Dollar which can be printed to infinity. Bitcoin is only a hedge however if people continue to use it, believe in it, and if it holds it’s price.
As bitcoin-only obeys the fundamentals of supply and supply, its price can’t be manipulated or controlled. Apart from that, bitcoin’s circulation is programmed and fixed. About every 10 minutes, a block on bitcoin blockchain is completed and about 12.5 bitcoins are created. After the bitcoin halving, 6.25 bitcoins will be created every 10 minutes.
READ ALSO: Bitcoin Scams: $1.2 Million Looted Through Email Blackmailing
Although bitcoin has certain advantages over fiat, the world’s first truly decentralized cryptocurrency is often criticized whenever scams and hacks involving bitcoin take place. In this regard, Frigo enlightened:
Bitcoin itself doesn’t get hacked, it’s exchanges and companies who operate in the cryptocurrency space who get hacked or are scams and that reputation rubs off on the whole industry. For example MtGox an exchange owner did an inside job and stole everyone’s Bitcoin. This had nothing to do with Bitcoin, yet Bitcoin catches the bad rap for an individuals actions. This would be like if a bank manager did an inside job and stole all the money from a bank, would we all stop using banks tomorrow? No.
This shows that bitcoin is not the culprit to be blamed and its actually the actions of bad actors that bring harm to other people. As bitcoin scams and hacks damage the repute of cryptos and hinder mass adoption, control over bad actors via strict crypto regulations would be necessary to allow wide adoption of cryptos. In the future, it would be of interest to see how cryptocurrencies experiencing setbacks through scams continue their journey.
