Everyone knows that the entire world is waiting for the Greek people to vote in the upcoming referendum: a yes vote will see the country accept the terms of the bailout, while a no vote will see Greece taking the first step towards exiting the Euro area. However, not everyone is afraid of the prospect of the latter. For example, for proponents of Bitcoin, a shaky Greek economy recalls halcyon days gone by.


They can be understood: usually, when the conventional financial system is in trouble, such alternative currencies as Bitcoin get their time to shine. Thanks to being decentralized, this currency can’t be controlled by any central bank, while its pseudonymity could allow people to get money into and out of Greece without legal reprisals.

According to the co-founder of Bitpay, a Bitcoin payment processor, the price of Bitcoin to can rise up to $610-1,250 in case of Grexit, while the coin is currently worth $250. In the meantime, Reddit’s Bitcoin subforum is full of advices on how to buy Bitcoin in Greece.

So, why is the upcoming crisis so tempting for proponents of Bitcoin? Apparently, it can be explained with the echoes of a previous crisis in the Euro area: the banking collapse in Cyprus in 2013. At the time, the country also imposed capital controls in order to prevent massive outflows of currency abroad. The collapse in question came at the same time as the first major boom in the price of the cryptocurrency, which was worth less than $20 in the beginning of 2013 and peaked at ten times that by early April (before crashing down).

Back in 2013, many experts credited the Bitcoin price rise to interest in the cryptocurrency sparked by the banking crisis. However, the author of the book Digital Gold: the Untold Story of Bitcoin, claimed they were laboring under a misapprehension. Nathaniel Popper explained that the price rise was more likely caused by an influx of money from Silicon Valley. This can be true – in 2013, if someone bought $1m worth of Bitcoin, it definitely would have made the price rise.

At the moment, it can be said that the price of Bitcoin has steadily risen during the Greek crisis – from $240 to $250 in just a few days. Although it has a long way to go to reach its 2014 highs of $1,000 per coin again, but let’s see what happens after the Greek vote.