QUESTION
Op-Ed
TASK
Cryptocurrencies have steadily increased in value and become more widely used since their creation. In particular Bitcoin price has more than doubled in 2020 and has received the endorsement of many important companies, like Elon Musk’s Tesla recent purchase of 1.5billion USD in bitcoin and MasterCard’s announcement that it will enable the use of cryptocurrencies in its network. For details see 1).
Governments have been a lot less enthusiastic about the adoption of Bitcoin and central banks have begun efforts to develop Central Bank-run cryptocurrencies to replace Bitcoin. Bitcoin’s supply is completely outside of government control at the moment, and hence central banks aren’t capable to use monetary policy through Bitcoin. If Bitcoin were to be widely adopted as a currency, this could greatly reduce the central bank’s capacity to influence economic activity. For details see 2),3) and 4).
Write an Op-Ed where you discuss the future of Bitcoin. Do you think Bitcoin is likely to become a widely used currency in economic transactions? Are you in favor or against this? Why? What should be the role of the government? Please, justify your reasoning with economic arguments.
References
1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/enriquedans/2021/02/13/bitcoin-its-not-if-its-now-just-a-matter-of-when/ (Links to an external site.)
2. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/042015/why-governments-are-afraid-bitcoin.asp (Links to an external site.)
3. https://www.moneycrashers.com/bitcoin-history-how-it-works-pros-cons/ (Links to an external site.)
4. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/21/op-ed-a-new-global-arms-race-in-digital-finance-is-heating-up.html (Links to an external site.)
FORMAT
Your Op-Ed should between 500 and 700 words.
It should be structured in approximately 4 or 5 paragraphs:
First paragraph: Introduction. Present the issue you will discuss. Hook the audience.
2 or 3 paragraphs where you develop and justify your opinion.
Last paragraph is your conclusion where you summarize what you have discussed.
Assignments that are shorter or longer will lose marks. The last item in your commentary should be a word count in parentheses e.g. “(690 words).” Prepare your assignment in any format –you will submit it by cutting and pasting what you write into a text box in Canvas. No pictures or graphs can be included. All words.
AUDIENCE
Your audience is the general reading public. Assume your audience has some education and background in current affairs and understands basic economic concepts, but is not knowledgeable about the details of economic theory or policy. In other words, you’ll need to explain any economic concepts you address in a way that keeps their interest and respects their intelligence.
Your audience is not the professor or the TA.
THE ECONOMIST STYLE GUIDE
In order to capture your reader’s interest and respect their intelligence, you will need a catchy title and to write more like a journalist than an academic. The posted writing examples will give you some guidance. To help you further, I am reproducing much of the Style Guide of The Economist Magazine. The Economist is widely recognized as the world standard for economic journalism. The complete Style Guide is at http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction. (Links to an external site.)I also recommend you read a few articles in The Economist to get a feel for their writing. Look at the Table of Contents of any issue to get a feel for catchy titles.
The first requirement of The Economist is that it should be readily understandable. Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought. So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible. Keep in mind George Orwell's elementary rules ("Politics and the English Language", 1946):
Never use a Metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out.
Never use the Passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a Jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Readers are primarily interested in what you have to say. By the way in which you say it you may encourage them either to read on or to give up. If you want them to read on: Do not be stuffy. “To write a genuine, familiar or truly English style”, said Hazlitt, “is to write as any one would speak in common conversation who had a thorough command or choice of words or who could discourse with ease, force and perspicuity setting aside all pedantic and oratorical flourishes.”
Use the language of everyday speech, not that of spokesmen, lawyers or bureaucrats (so prefer let to permit, people to persons, buy to purchase, colleague to peer, way out to exit, present to gift, rich to wealthy, show to demonstrate, break to violate). Pomposity and long-windedness tend to obscure meaning, or reveal the lack of it: strip them away in favour of plain words.
Do not be hectoring or arrogant. Those who disagree with you are not necessarily stupid or insane. Nobody needs to be described as silly: let your analysis show that he is. When you express opinions, do not simply make assertions. The aim is not just to tell readers what you think, but to persuade them; if you use arguments, reasoning and evidence, you may succeed. Go easy on the oughts and shoulds.
…. Do your best to be lucid (“I see but one rule: to be clear”, Stendhal). Simple sentences help. Keep complicated constructions and gimmicks to a minimum, if necessary by remembering the New Yorker's comment: “Backward ran the sentences until reeled the mind.”….
Long paragraphs, like long sentences, can confuse the reader. “The paragraph”, according to Fowler, “is essentially a unit of thought, not of length; it must be homogeneous in subject matter and sequential in treatment.” One-‐sentence paragraphs should be used only occasionally.
Clear thinking is the key to clear writing. “A scrupulous writer”, observed Orwell, “in every sentence that he writes will ask himself at least four questions, thus: What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
And he will probably ask himself two more: Could I put it more shortly? Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?”
Scrupulous writers will also notice that their copy is edited only lightly and is likely to be used. It may even be read.
Given the short length of your assignment compared to most academic papers, here are some additional writing tips.
Make your main point early on; unlike an essay you don’t need a long introduction.
Support each point with evidence, such as a statistic, example, or economic reasoning.
Make clear the economic concepts and reasoning on which your argument is based.
With only 1-‐2 pages, you should have 3-‐6 paragraphs. If you have more or fewer paragraphs, you are doing something wrong.
OP-‐ED SOURCES
For examples of commentaries you might use as models for you own commentary, try the following sources.
Globe and Mail
Report on Business Commentary
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-‐on-‐business/commentary/ (Links to an external site.)
The Star Opinion Pages
http://www.thestar.com/opinion (Links to an external site.)
Financial Post
Opinion http://opinion.financialpost.com/category/opinion/ (Links to an external site.)
Especially FPComment
http://opinion.financialpost.com/category/fp-‐comment/ (Links to an external site.)
Wall Street Journal
Must pay for access.
http://online.wsj.com/home-‐page (Links to an external site.)
New York Times Economix Blog
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/ (Links to an external site.)
Seven different economists – on the left and the right –contribute to this blog, along with New York Times economics reporters.
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| Subject | Business | Pages | 5 | Style | APA |
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Answer
The Future of Bitcoin
There is good reason why the Bitcoin cryptocurrency is increasingly popular and has continued to attract high profile investors over time. The world’s currency system has been in need of a currency system that demonstrates more liquidity, more acceptability, independent of traditional political influence and is easily acceptable by anyone from any corner of the globe. Even while many other cryptocurrencies came before it, Bitcoin is easily the most recognizable of these forms of currency. It is quite likely that for its advantages over the other currencies controlled by national Central Banks, Bitcoin will increase in value and use as more users turn to safer modes of virtual business and economic transactions.
I feel that Bitcoin will soon be a widely preferred mode of economic transactions. First and foremost, Bitcoin is finite. The units will never go beyond 21 million (Dans, 2021). In this regard, those who engage in transactions with it can be sure that unlike most national currencies, no one will decide to unilaterally increase Bitcoins thus badly affecting their value. This reliability will be essential to their existence. The decentralization of Bitcoin from political whims is also a feature that will make Bitcoin usage to increase. Having zero control from bodies like central banks, this currency system exists out of the mainstream political system. This builds the confidence that users of Bitcoin need going forward because they are sure governments cannot unilaterally seize the Bitcoins and destroy the market. The relatively higher liquidity that Bitcoin displays as compared to other cryptocurrencies will make more and more users to trust Bitcoin as they will be sure that their money will not lose value.
I am highly in favour of the use of Bitcoins. I am a great admirer of the cryptocurrency world. As someone who has great interests in understanding international trade and the need to find more flexible yet readily available systems of exchange, I feel that Bitcoins offers this edge. Often, people want to do business without feeling that the government is watching. The need to have this freedom has to be balanced with the surety that the money people invest in the Bitcoin currency is not mere speculation but a solid economic venture. The carrying out of international business is much easier and convenient with Bitcoin than it would be by the traditional national currencies (Martucci, 2021). The fact that Bitcoin makes transactions more or less casual as compared to other currencies is a big reason why I support its expansion. In addition, the fact that this cryptocurrency has begun to see quite a wide acceptability makes the prospects even more interesting.
One of the advantages of using Bitcoin is its capability to escape centralised monitoring and control by fiscal bodies like the central banks of the world governments. However, I also do believe that the eyebrows that have been raised by governments are founded on fact. The government could indeed have some degree of control because left to operate unilaterally, the Bitcoin sphere can be fertile ground for shady business dealings, tax evasion and money laundering (McWhinney, 2019). Because of the little or no control by the governments, the Bitcoins can be good avenues through which criminals operate without the fear of getting detected. Some form of fiscal policy may be beneficial in the long run.
In conclusion, Bitcoins as a form of cryptocurrencies will continue to thrive following its flexibility, increasing liquidity and decentralization. Bitcoins are admirable because of the manner in which they have not only become more acceptable by many around the world as standard cryptocurrency, but also the ease with which they make international business possible. However, even while this decentralization is admirable, it is the leeway that criminals may use to prefer Bitcoin to mainstream currency. Some level of control is required to reduce the losses and crime that may be occasioned by increased Bitcoin use.
References
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Dans, E. (2021, Feb 13). Bitcoin: It’s not if, it’s now just a matter of When, Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/enriquedans/2021/02/13/bitcoin-its-not-if-its-now-just-a-matter-of-when/?sh=5609571576ee Martucci, B. (2021). What is Bitcoin—History, how it works, pros and cons, Money Crashers. https://www.moneycrashers.com/bitcoin-history-how-it-works-pros-cons/ McWhinney, J. (2019, Nov 1). Why Governments are afraid of Bitcoin, Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/042015/why-governments-are-afraid-bitcoin.asp
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