CoinDesk Global Macro Editor & CoinDesk TV Anchor Emily Parker joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the report that just 1% of bitcoin holders control the lion’s share of coins in circulation and the overall outlook for crypto.
AKIKO FUJITA: In our Crypto Corner today, Bitcoin bulls have long argued that its decentralized nature democratizes finance. But a new report points to just how few control the majority of the digital asset. The National Bureau of Economic Research found that 0.01% of Bitcoin holders control 27% of the coin in circulation. To put that in perspective, Fed data reveals the top 1% of US earners hold about a third of all the wealth.
Let’s bring in Emily Parker, CoinDesk Global Macro Editor– Editor and CoinDesk TV anchor. Emily, it’s good to talk to you today. You know, this has gotten a lot of people talking, especially those who sort of said, like, you know, there’s– there’s so many– there’s so much enthusiasm around this space, but how decentralized is it really? How do you react to this report? Does it really change the case for Bitcoin at all?
EMILY PARKER: You know, there has been talk about this for a long time and people questioning how– how decentralized Bitcoin really is. So this isn’t actually a new concept. I think people have been worrying about this for a while. I mean, I think there’s a few silver linings, so to speak, when it comes to decentralization. One is that, obviously, Bitcoin is no longer the only game in town. There are so many coins out there. There are so many different options for investment. There’s decentralized Finance or DeFi, you know, Ethereum is kind of taking on a life of its own, there’s all the meme coins. So it’s not just Bitcoin. That’s one.Finance Morning BriefFree. Cancel anytimeNeed-to-know market information in your inbox daily, Monday – Friday. See latest
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And the other trend that we’re seeing and we’ve seen a lot over 2021 is that Bitcoin is becoming increasingly global and cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly global. There is no one country that really dominates this space. And I think that’s a really important thing. For example, if you look at China, China used to be such an important player in the cryptocurrency world. And now China has just gotten even more strict on cryptocurrency regulations and crackdowns. And so some of that has moved to the United States.
But we’re just seeing so much activity in countries all over the world that just aren’t talked about as much, right, like Argentina, or Venezuela, or even Peru, Mexico, Nigeria. So– so I think it’s– it’s really a global phenomenon. And I think that’s– that’s good news.
AKIKO FUJITA: And how much of that continues going into next year? I mean, you mentioned the adoption, how much that accelerated globally this year. What are some countries that you think investors should be watching to really take the leap into crypto?
EMILY PARKER: I think Latin America is a really important region that doesn’t get enough attention when it comes to cryptocurrency. So there are just a few countries that are showing such strong interest in crypto. For example, Brazil– there was a report earlier this year by CoinDesk that said Brazilians owned something like $50 billion in crypto assets, right. So you have Brazil. You have countries with high inflation like Argentina or Venezuela. Colombia is another big cryptocurrency market. Mexico is really, really important. So you know, even– even Cuba, you see some use of cryptocurrency.
So I think this is a really important region that we don’t talk about a lot because, in the past, so much of the conversation was centered around the United States and China. But I think Latin America is a really, really important region.
