The situation in Lebanon just got intense as the Western Asian country is currently facing what appears to be its worst economic crisis since the end of its civil war in 1990.
Reports from international news media, France 24, today revealed that angry protesters launched a night-time attack on several banks in the Beirut, the capital city and commercial hub of Lebanon, after a brief lull in the past weeks.
The demonstrators were fiercer in their renewed rallies as they attacked the district of Hamra, one of the major banking hubs in Beirut. They burnt disposal bins, damaged ATMs beyond repairs, designed the walls with graffiti, and smashed the windows of the banks with tools like rods, rocks, and fire extinguishers, leaving the premises filled with shattered glass, perhaps as a gift for the banks.
But according to the report, the banks in Hamra displaced a remarkable resilience as they reopened for business despite all the damage.
For one thing, banks around the world seem to have one thing in common – they care less for the masses, but the same cannot be said for politicians and the wealthy few. Financial institutions, one way or the other, always favor the high earners.
The demonstrators accuse the banks in the country for pushing Lebanon into its worst economic crises in decades, thus the reason for their anger and attack.
According to the protesters, the banks seized their deposits and restricted Lebanese from performing certain transactions like transferring money and limited withdrawal. However, politicians, bank owners, and other influential people are allowed to do such transactions with no restrictions.
To make things worse, many lenders do not allow people to withdraw more than $1,000 per month, while others have imposed tighter restrictions, even though there is no formal policy for such in place.
These controls from the banks are forcing the majority to suffer from the continuous plummeting of the country’s local currency, as they cannot transfer or move their funds to a safe haven like gold and crypto.
The decentralized nature of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies helps users to experience the freedom of money. Crypto allows anyone to transact freely, efficiently, and equally, unlike what is going on in Lebanon and other countries around the world.
Perhaps, this partiality that exists in the traditional financial sector is what would drive the adoption of cryptocurrencies just as famous Tyler Winklevoss, the CEO and co-founder of Gemini exchange, once said.
According to him, people would be forced to chose crypto because of the amount of freedom it offers. With the current situation in Lebanon, affected Lebanese would gladly open their arms and embrace a new money system that gives them the freedom they deserve.