Kanye West Reveals Moment He Embraced Bitcoin: Ex-Slave Harriet Tubman Was Catalyst
Music icon Kanye West is a closet bitcoin bull who said former slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman was the catalyst for his decision to dump fiat currency and embrace the cryptocurrency revolution.
“That was the moment when I wanted to use bitcoin, when I saw Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill,” West told radio host Charlamagne tha God in an interview released May 1.
West explained: “It’s like when you see all the slave movies…it’s like why you gotta keep reminding us about slavery? Why don’t you put Michael Jordan on the $20 bill?”
Kanye suggested that like fiat currency, Harriet Tubman is an icon of the past and not a symbol of the future, which is what he prefers to focus on.
“Certain icons is just too far in the past and not relatable, and that’s what makes them safe. They’ll let you go on the Grammys and talk about slavery and racism because it’s not talking about [buying stock and buying property…economic empowerment.]”
West said as a modern, successful African-American man, he wants the younger generation of African-Americans to empower themselves by learning about investing and how to make money rather than lament the bygone history of slavery in the United States.
In 2016, the U.S. Treasury announced that Harriet Tubman would appear on the $20 bill. She was slated to make her fiat currency debut in 2020, but those plans have been delayed.
Kanye West recently made headlines for announcing his support of President Donald Trump.
West also said he’s looking forward to meeting billionaire Peter Thiel, a fellow Trump supporter and bitcoin bull.
As the Inquisitr has reported, billionaire Warren Buffett trashed bitcoin once again as “speculative gambling,” but a younger generation of billionaires — including tech venture capitalist Tim Draper and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey — are convinced that cryptocurrencies are the future.
In fact, Draper insists that bitcoin is a revolution that’s “bigger than the Internet,” as the Inquisitr has reported. Draper, an early investor in Skype, Tesla, and Hotmail, says bitcoin will be bigger than all three combined.
“This is bigger than the internet. It’s bigger than the Iron Age, the Renaissance. It’s bigger than the Industrial Revolution. This affects the entire world and it’s going to be affected in a faster and more prevalent way than you ever imagined.”
Tim Draper, who has set a $250,000 bitcoin price target for 2022, has a flair for flamboyant declarations, but he also has a good track record. In 2014, he bought 30,000 bitcoins for $600 apiece at a federal auction. That stash is now worth $270 million.
Billionaire Tim Draper Says Bitcoin Is 'Bigger Than The Internet,' Sets $250,000 Price Target For 2022. Tim Draper, an early investor in Skype, Tesla, and Hotmail, says bitcoin will be bigger than all three combined. #Economy #Business https://t.co/QJOHA8qlLo
— The Inquisitr (@theinquisitr) April 24, 2018
Checkout Kanye West’s entire interview with Charlamagne tha God below:
