Fintech CEO: Bukele Doubles Down on Dubious Bitcoin Dip Highlights Culture of Innovation

As Bitcoin dipped, losing $10,000 over a 24-hour period, El Salvadoran President Bukele bought the dip. Publicly. On Twitter. Despite receiving pushback from folks like economist Peter Schiff. His announcement noted simply, “El Salvador just bought the dip! 150 coins at an average USD price of ~$48,670 #Bitcoin”

“What’s interesting about President Bukele is that he’s staked the entirety of his political future on his Bitcoin gambit. But, this dip doesn’t seem to be based on anything more than an overall fear of the new variant of the coronavirus. With that being the case, if you’ve already bet big on Bitcoin, it makes a lot of sense to double down when such an opportunity arises. History will decide how we view President Bukele, but it seems to be clear that he’s interested in building a culture of innovation around blockchain technologies, digital assets, and Bitcoin,” said Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges.

“Culture is important in tech. There are a lot of ways to build that culture. One of them is through the press. But, most look beyond the headlines. What is the commitment in terms of regulatory or ancillary dedication to making their tech industry flourish? In this case, buying the dip carries political risk, and Bukele moved forward regardless. It is in line with his launch of a Bitcoin mining operation using geothermal power. The culmination of these efforts is probably why crypto investors from Europe made the trip out to El Salvador to learn more about what’s happening there,” said Gardner.

“We’re already in the green from our last purchase, in less than 24 hours. You know boomer, we have 44,106 oz of gold in our reserves. Worth $79 million, down 0.37% from a year ago. If we had sold it a year ago and bought #Bitcoin, it would now be valued at $204 million,” Bukele wrote on Twitter in response to a tweet from Peter Schiff, which labeled the recent purchase a “waste.”

“It is clear that digital assets are here to stay. Central banks around the world are racing to develop, beta test, and release their own digital currencies. El Salvador and Bukele are taking a different tack than many countries. It is certainly more aggressive than most. However, most of us in the industry expect that digital assets will truly transform the way we interact with the financial system. Even institutional investors, as well as former naysayers like Kevin O’Leary, are banking on cryptocurrency as part of their investment mélange. Building a tech culture, however necessary, may well pay dividends to Bukele’s country down the road, particularly in terms of international investment,” said Gardner.

Modulus is known throughout the financial technology segment as a leader in the development of ultra-high frequency trading systems and blockchain technologies. Modulus has provided its exchange solution to some of the industry’s most profitable digital asset exchanges, including a well-known multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange. Over the past twenty years, the company has built technology for the world’s most notable institutions, with a client list which includes NASA, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Siemens, Shell, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago.

“Right now, one of the biggest concerns to manage in order to ensure a positive crypto future resides in the custody space. When there are providers with significant security flaws being given multi-billion dollar valuations, that’s problematic. I believe the custody situation will right itself in time. Eventually, a fintech firm with a history of innovation and security will emerge, giving investors and exchanges another option to safeguard their assets. That’s one of the final pieces necessary for cryptocurrencies to realize their true and full potential,” said Gardner.