The German Finance Minister, Heiko Maas, wrote for Handelsblatt on 21st August and wrote about the relationship between Europe and the United States. Maas addressed the topic of the U.S withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and went to add that the U.S must not be able to continue its operations “over our heads and at our expense”, and “for that reason it’s essential that we strengthen European autonomy by establishing payment channels that are independent of the US, creating a European Monetary Fund and building up an independent Swift system”.
This stance expressed by the Finance Minister could result in drastic changes within the economic environment worldwide. Some noteworthy individuals have even gone on to express how this might lead to the value of the U.S dollar being devalued as a result. Kim Dotcom, the creator of Megaupload and claiming himself to be an ‘internet freedom fighter’, has joined the fray of people who have supported Germany’s stance. Kim tweeted on the 22nd and encouraged his followers to purchase cryptocurrency and gold.
Kim has maintained his past position where he claimed that the USD will collapse owing to the insane amount of debt that the U.S government has accumulated over the years.
The U.S had imposed sanctions against Turkey and Iran which have led to them being excluded from the global financial system. These sanctions have had a major effect on how Germany now perceives the U.S and has framed its stance in accordance. Many strongly believe that a system based on cryptocurrencies can be utilised as a powerful force to provide an alternative to SWIFT. Even though the SWIFT financial system has its origins in Belgium, it hasn’t been able to escape the grip of U.S sanctions. Whether Germany is able to transition into a payment system that is independent of the U.S remains to be seen.
