In a Twitter thread, Balaji Srinivasan, the former CTO of Coinbase and a prominent American entrepreneur, announced that he had deposited a whopping $2 million in USDC as part of his bet with James Medlock, a tax enthusiast on Twitter. Balaji’s confirmation puts an end to the speculations about the authenticity of the bet, and it is now a matter of time to see how the bet unfolds between the two notable personalities on social media.
Clear public interest wager
On March 25, Balaji tweeted an update about the status of the bet, stating that it was now a “Simon-Erlich type public interest bet where it is evident that there is zero financial motive”:
As I mentioned to Medlock, I moved $2M into USDC days ago and it's ready to go[1].
Right now, we're making sure it's set up as a Simon-Erlich style public interest bet where it's clear that there's zero profit motive.
[1]: https://t.co/cLy2hEFsIc https://t.co/mKpak2KBCU pic.twitter.com/vh4k0nKFHh
— Balaji (@balajis) March 25, 2023
On March 16, James Medlock took to Twitter to bet $1 million on the idea that there could never be hyperinflation in the US crypto market. Balaji Srinivasan quickly responded by accepting the challenge and offering to wager $1 million against Medlock’s claim. The exchange caused a stir in the crypto community, with many eagerly awaiting the outcome of this high-stakes wager.
On the other hand, Medlock appeared on Twitter on March 25 and claimed that Balaji still needed to deposit the bet sum of one million dollars into the escrow account.
Balaji, according to sources, provided an update on the progress of the bet soon after Medlock’s tweet. Balaji highlighted the Simon-Erlich bet in the update, indicating that it is a public-interest bet centered on hyperbitcoinization. He said he is not motivated by profit and would not sell Bitcoin for USD until legally required. Moreover, unless legally obliged to do differently, Balaji stated his goal to keep Bitcoin until the US dollar is no longer the world’s reserve currency.
Digital dollar devaluation safeguard
According to sources, Balaji’s proposal for the bet includes a mutually agreed-upon custodian overseeing the settlement in the event of digital dollar devaluation. After the plan is executed, the third party will hold Medlock’s 1 BTC and Balaji’s $1 million in escrow until the winner is declared. This secure and transparent arrangement ensures that the funds are delivered to the rightful winner of the wager.
In further detail, in the following ninety days, Medlock will emerge victorious if the price of a bitcoin is lower than one million dollars, while Balaji will emerge victorious if the price of a bitcoin is more than one million dollars.
