A 200-year-old antisemitic conspiracy theory about the Rothschilds has been used in a customer email sent out by a British Bitcoin company.
Fintech firm Crypterium sent out a circular e-mail under the subject: “All you need to know about Bitcoin for now.”
It started with a variation on a quotation attributed to 18th Century banker Baron Rothschild, which stated: “The best time to buy bitcoin is whenever blood is on the street, everyone is panicking and no one’s talking about it.”
But the quotation and the story that surrounds it have been long debunked as a traditional anti-Jewish conspiracy theory.
The libel dates back to a pamphlet circulated across Europe more than 200 years ago that was signed by ‘Satan’ and purported to tell the story of how Nathan Mayer Rothschild made his wealth in the wake of the Battle of Waterloo.
In the story, it was claimed Baron Rothschild witnessed Napoleon's defeat and made it back to England before news of Wellington’s victory, allowing him to accrue a fortune in the panic-selling of stock at low prices.
The quotation, falsely attributed to Rothschild and popularised by the Nazis, states: “The time to buy is when there’s blood on the streets, even if the blood is your own.”
The Board of Deputies said it was “disappointing” the firm did not do its research before sending out its guide “based on a 200-year-old antisemitic conspiracy theory” and called for it to be pulled to avoid any more offence.
A BoD spokesperson said: “We call for this quote to be withdrawn immediately. It is a lesson to all that a few minutes spent doing due diligence can avoid a huge amount of embarrassment and offence.”
Contacted by the JC, George Krasukhin, chief marketing officer for Crypterium, disputed whether the quote was antisemitic.
Mr Krasukhin, who said he was himself Jewish, said: “It is not related to antisemitic theme at all. It was the quote from one of the richest man on the earth.”
Launched in 2018, Crypterium is a rapidly growing Fintech firm (a portmanteau word blending “finance” and “technology”) in a market that is now worth more than one trillion dollars.
The company saw its turnover grow tenfold during the pandemic, to 178 million dollars.
Led by former Visa general manager Steven Parker, the company now has more than 400,000 customers world wide using both its Crypterium Wallet and Card to connect digital assets with traditional finance.
Its step-by-step Bitcoin buying guide described the “digital asset market decline” as a “buying opportunity”.
It went on to quote Warren Buffet: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful”.
