Did Fox Business book a Bitcoin SV proponent by mistake?

An unusual interview with Bitcoin SV (BSV) proponent Jimmy Nguyen on Fox Business earlier today appears to have been cut short after Nguyen kept criticizing Bitcoin.

Nguyen appeared on the Dec. 3 episode of Fox Business’ Varney and Co. to discuss the increasing interest around Bitcoin, but the interview came to an abrupt end after a total of about two minutes.

Introduced as the “Bitcoin Association” founding president, Nguyen repeatedly took shots at Bitcoin in response to questions from host Stuart Varney suggesting that Bitcoin was increasingly being used for payments.

There was no mention of Bitcoin SV in either the graphics, the introduction, or the interview itself, leading to speculation the host, or the producers — or both — may have been unaware the “Bitcoin Association President” was actually an advocate for the controversial fork BSV.

— Jimmy Nguyen (@JimmyWinSV) December 3, 2020

Asked by host Stuart Varney if he thought Bitcoin’s use as a currency was continuing to expand, Nguyen replied, “No, I would disagree with that. I think Bitcoin is very rarely used today to pay for things at merchants.” Nguyen went on to name Bitcoin’s “inability to scale” as the main culprit behind the “$7” transaction fees that prevent it from being used as a currency for everyday transactions.

Nguyen also used his brief time on-air to reject Bitcoin’s “store of value” narrative while claiming that it has been “driving up its price recently.” As an example of what is, in his view, an incorrect usage of Bitcoin, he mentioned companies that have famously added large sums of BTC to their holdings in recent months:

“Public companies such as MicroStrategy and Square have bought up large reserves of the coin and are treating it as a reserve asset, hoping that it goes up in value just by parking it, not actually using it to transact with in daily business and consumer life.”

Bitcoin proponents and BSV critics took to Twitter to remark on some of the oddities surrounding the interview, noting they felt it was strange that Jimmy Nguyen, one of the main faces behind Bitcoin SV, was asked by Fox Business to speak about Bitcoin (BTC).

— Arthur van Pelt (@MyLegacyKit) December 3, 2020

Also noted as curious was the fact that Nguyen did not have the opportunity to mention BSV at all in the short interview, leaving the mention of his position as founding president of the Bitcoin Association without any sort of context to suggest it is a BSV organization. Twitter user Zectro said, “It’s delicious though that he likely went on there with the singular purpose to shill BSV and he couldn’t even get that right.”

Bitcoin SV’s claim to be the “real” Bitcoin, and its use of the Bitcoin Association name — rather than the more correct “Bitcoin SV Association” name — invites comparisons with Roger Ver’s promotion and sales of Bitcoin Cash via the Bitcoin.com website, which has led to potential confusion among newcomers to crypto.

Starting late March, Nguyen took an extended hiatus from Twitter, prompting claims that he was intentionally evading a subpoena regarding Satoshi-claimant Craig Wright’s ongoing legal battle with the estate of Dave Kleiman. He returned to the platform in mid June where he remains a staunch supporter and promoter of Bitcoin SV.

On Sept. 30, Nguyen wrote a guest article for Cointelegraph expressing his desire to see the world unite behind a single blockchain.