Bitcoiners should keep an eye on France

in #crypto6 months ago

Back in 2013, the event that pushed Bitcoin into the mainstream was the Cyprus debt crisis. A "bail-in" was imposed where people's savings were seized to recapitalise the banks. Capital controls were imposed so people couldn't take their money out of the country.

This was the moment bitcoin stopped being a fringe idea and people began to take it seriously as portable money the govt couldn't confiscate.

Well, we might be approaching another crisis, this time in France.

The French National Assembly elections will be held on 30th June. The top two candidates in each department (constituency) then face a run-off on 7th July.

The problem is, the top two candidates are likely to be from the National Rally and the Left Alliance.

They differ on immigration and social policy. But both have extreme left economic policies, which is spooking the markets.

Both want to lower the pension age to 60, increase spending on entitlements and cut taxes at the same time, all funded by borrowing. While France's debt is 116% of GDP.

The rating agencies had already downgraded France's credit rating - whoever wins is likely to cause a full-blown financial crisis.

This is what has happened to France's stock market since the election was announced last Monday:


source

Institutional investors are selling and getting their money out.

At some point households will panic too. The only option for them is Swiss francs, gold, and Bitcoin.