Bitcoin is the talk of mainstream media, Wall Street, business, and more. No television segment on finance these days doesn’t include a mention of the top cryptocurrency.
But it has unfortunately led to some serious blunders, and misinformation being spread. A recent example is especially laughable and demonstrates how poorly researched news anchors or their writers can be, as one Fox Business correspondent is claiming the entire BTC supply has been lost or stranded in what he says could “be the premise for a great movie” – a movie that’s entirely fiction.
Fact Or Fiction: Don’t Beleive What You Read About Bitcoin In The Media
Bitcoin has been around for well over a decade now. By the time it took the world by storm in 2017, the majority of the mainstream public still hadn’t yet heard of the cryptocurrency
It is now three full years later and the cryptocurrency is back in the limelight, yet a clear lack of understanding remains in the media and in the general public.
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Not only is misinformation spread on purpose by those opposed to the asset class, such as Peter Schiff, Nouriel Roubini, and others, but even public figures do so inadvertently.
As was the case recently on Fox Business News, where a correspondent was covering a story related to the currently trending cryptocurrency. The screw-up showed just how little the journalist knew about Bitcoin and how little research had been done on the subject.
How far must Bitcoin climb for misinformation to stop? | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Fox Business Correspondent Claims Entire BTC Supply Is Lost In Misinformation Blunder
The news itself that was being covered isn’t new, and in fact, the victim lost his Bitcoin years ago. The story dates back as far as 2013 on NPR but was recently brought back to light in The New York Times because the surging asset is the hottest topic around.
An early crypto pioneer lost over 7000 BTC and only has two password attempts left before it is locked away forever. The Fox Business News correspondent or his team of writers mixed nearly every detail, and instead he claimed 18.5 million Bitcoins were lost or “stranded’ forever.
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Worse yet, the correspondent claimed the 18.5 million BTC was worth $140 billion. The cryptocurrency’s market cap is currently around $676 billion, and the 700 BTC lost at current prices is worth around $250 million. Nearly no point of data cited was accurate, and no, the entire supply of BTC isn’t lost or stranded – but it is being held tightly.
While the offense was rather harmless, and only paints the correspondent themselves as uninformed, misinformation will continue to be a thorn in the side of Bitcoin for a long time to come.
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