Bitcoin booed at Ohio State University commencement ceremony

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During the Ohio State University 2024 Spring Commencement, Christopher Pan, the founder of MyIntent, an online jewelry retailer, gave financial advice to the graduating class, including his thoughts on Bitcoin. However, his remarks were met with boos from the crowd, indicating a degree of disapproval towards BTC.

In his speech, Pan turned his attention to Bitcoin that the crowd’s reaction took a negative turn.

“So I know this might feel polarizing, but I encourage you to keep an open mind. Right now, I see Bitcoin as a very misunderstood asset class,” he said, at which point the crowd began to boo him.

Christopher Pan mentions #Bitcoin at @OhioState during the Ohio State University 2024 Spring Commencement. You can hear the crowd's reaction. We are so very early.

full speech can be found here https://t.co/R3eRRF2EAU pic.twitter.com/gHDZhrnqvC

— Columbus Bitcoin PhD (@ColumbusBitcoin) May 5, 2024

Despite the crowd’s reaction, Pan continued his speech, highlighting the decentralized and finite nature of Bitcoin, which he believes makes it resistant to government manipulation.

He also addressed the Bitcoin ETFs, saying, “In the early days, the exchanges for Bitcoin were prone to hacks and fraud. But the issue has been resolved with the recent launch of the Bitcoin ETFs backed by two of the world’s largest asset managers, Blackrock and Fidelity.”

While the booing at the Ohio State University event indicates a degree of skepticism towards Bitcoin among the attendees, it does not necessarily reflect the overall stance of the university or the state of Ohio.

In 2018, Ohio became the first US state to allow businesses to pay their taxes using Bitcoin. However, the state suspended this program in 2019 due to concerns that the payment processor, BitPay.

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