Bitcoin Reaches $2,251 Amid Major Political Scandals

Over the weekend, the price of bitcoin rose to an astounding $2,251 as political scandals brewed in both Brazil and the United States.

This is a record high for the digital currency and its timing could not be any more opportune. While the political unrest has led to the largest stock market drop in nearly 8 months – the Dow was down by at least 370 points mid-week - bitcoin has risen by 3.5%.

This comes after President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey – the lead investigator on the case involving former national security advisor Mike Flynn’s ties to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. There have also been allegations swirling that Trump had a conversation with Comey shortly before his dismissal where he stated: “I hope you can let this go”, in relation to the Flynn investigation.

It was also recently revealed that President Trump disclosed classified information regarding the Islamic State to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - and controversial Kislyak - during a meeting at the Oval last week.

As of Friday, May 19th, the approval ratings for POTUS have dropped and there are undoubtedly talks of Mr. Trump’s impeachment. A poll by Morning Consult and Politico found that only 41% of Americans approved of his leadership, 53% did not approve of his work, and 6% were neutral. Over at Bovada, there are -160 betting odds that Donald Trump will not complete a full term.

Brazil also had its fair share of political turmoil this week. The Bovespa stock index closed more than 8% down at 61,575 points, making Thursday’s plunge the worst day since October 22nd, 2008.

The plummet is a direct result of accusations against Brazilian President Michel Temer attempting to bribe a political witness in a high-profile corruption case. It has been reported that Temer okayed offering money to the currently imprisoned former House Speaker Eduardo Cunha in exchange for his silence during the Brazil graft probe.

Coincidently, Brazil’s former President left on a similar note in lieu of a huge corruption scandal. Komal Sri-Kumar, President of Sri-Kumar Global Strategies, had the following to say regarding the circumstances.

"Now the fear is that Temer might have to leave office like his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff. But it's too early to panic, because there are a lot of steps to removing a president in Brazil."

This bitcoin review finds general acceptance and favor for bitcoin are being shown by more than just its increase in price. Senator Orrin Hatch, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), and Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) have asked for IRS Commissioner John Koskinen to provide more thorough justification for their John Doe Summons. Authorized by Internal Revenue Code Section 7609(f) and approved by a federal district court judge, the summons requires Coinbase to provide the IRS with information on US taxpayers that used the service anytime between 2013 and 2015.

“We strongly question whether the IRS has actually established a reasonable basis to support the mass production of records for half of a million people, the vast majority of whom appear to not be conducting the volume of transactions needed to report them to the IRS. Based on the information before us, this summons seems…highly intrusive to a large population of individuals,” stated the letter from Congress.

While bitcoin was largely villainized in its early adoption stages, it has now garnered the attention and support of legislators. There is even a bipartisan Congressional Blockchain Caucus to help shape policies and promote the digital currency.