Billionaire pitches Bitcoin to Sri Lanka, gets snubbed

• Billionaire investor Tim Draper recently pitched Bitcoin adoption to Sri Lankan officials.
• The pitch was shot down by the Governor of the Central Bank.

Pro-crypto investor Tim Draper’s recent trip to Sri Lanka is making headlines after the Silicon Valley billionaire’s Bitcoin pitch for the embattled island nation was rejected. Draper was in Sri Lanka to film an episode of his TV show. During the visit, he met several high-profile politicians, including the country’s President. 

Central Bank Governor rejects Draper’s Bitcoin pitch

According to a report by Bloomberg, Tim Draper met with Ranil Wickremesinghe, the President of Sri Lanka, to present the prospect of crypto adoption for the country. At press time, Sri Lanka was in the midst of a debt crisis, which has caused fuel and food shortages.

Draper proposed that the country use Bitcoin [BTC] to help the economy. He cited the flagship crypto’s influence in El Salvador, where BTC has been legal tender since September 2021. 

After meeting with the President, Draper sat down with Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe. However, as the man responsible for sorting out the country’s financial mess, the governor had little patience for Tim Draper’s Bitcoin pitch.

Dreaper proposed:

“I come to the Central Bank with decentralized currency.”

To this, the Governor simply replied,

“We don’t accept.”

Despite the Governor’s reluctance, Draper tried to bring his attention to the rampant corruption in Sri Lanka. He advocated that only Bitcoin adoption could solve the country’s corruption. 

The meeting, which lasted 30 minutes, saw Draper make several attempts to attract some confidence in his Bitcoin pitch. When asked by Draper about the advantages of having their own currency, the Governor replied that it was necessary for monetary policy independence, saying,

“We don’t want to make the crisis worse by introducing Bitcoin.”