Prominent Cryptographer Nick Szabo Says Sanctioned Countries Will Seek Refuge in Cryptocurrencies

By Swati Kishore

American computer scientist and cryptographer, Nick Szabo said at the recently held Israel Bitcoin Summit that sanctioned countries and devastated economies will seek the use of censorship-resistant digital currencies.

Szabo is well-known in the crypto community. The veteran cryptographer had designed the concept of Bitgold, in 1998, much before the introduction of Bitcoin to the world by Satoshi Nakamoto.

The Israel Bitcoin Summit took place on January 8, 2019, at the Tel Aviv University.

At the summit, Szabo argued that central banks across the world will in future depend on the reserves of digital currencies to supplement gold reserves.

He also gave the audience a comprehensive historical view of the use of cryptocurrencies in the world.

Szabo said over the last two years digital currencies have gained use in nations such as Iran, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

With the above examples, Szabo was able to highlight his point that sanctioned countries, as well as countries suffering from hyperinflation, are turning to cryptos.

Reportedly, Szabo’s comments were in response to the statements made by Israel’s Head of the National Economic Council, Avi Simhon.

At the same summit, Simhon had branded Bitcoin technology as ‘inefficient’ and estimated that it will soon become obsolete. Simhon also made his point about the mass adoption of Bitcoin technology saying that such deployment would waste a massive amount of money in energy costs.

Being a prominent cryptographer, Szabo supports the future digital revolution that will be stirred by cryptocurrencies. During his talk, Szabo said that he is positive that in the near future central banks across nations will turn to cryptos rather than gold. He explained,

“The other problem with gold reserves is that they’re physically vulnerable. When the Nazis conquered countries in Europe, the first place they went to was a central bank’s gold reserves.”

Thus, Szabo appears to be pretty positive about the future of cryptocurrencies when compared to gold. His comments are not to be taken lightly, as the veteran cryptographer is venerated in the crypto community owing to his early forecasts about smart contracts.