Fed chair Powell views Bitcoin as digital gold, not a dollar competitor

Share This Post

The Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell dismissed the notion of Bitcoin as a replacement for the U.S. dollar, instead framing the leading crypto as a speculative asset comparable to gold.

Powell shared his insights during an appearance at The New York Times DealBook Summit in Manhattan, emphasizing Bitcoin’s volatility and limited use as a form of payment or store of value.

According to Powell:

“It’s just like gold, only it’s virtual… It’s very volatile, it’s not a competitor for the dollar, it’s really a competitor for gold. That’s how I think of it.”

Powell’s comments come amid heightened speculation about Bitcoin’s growing influence in global finance. Crypto recently achieved a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, surpassing silver, valued at $1.75 trillion, to become the world’s eighth most valuable asset. However, it remains far behind gold, which holds an estimated market value of $18 trillion.

This is not the first time Powell has used this comparison to address Bitcoin. In 2021, the Fed chair said that crypto is not useful as a store of value due to its intrinsic volatility, with Bitcoin being “essentially a substitute for gold, rather than for the dollar.”

Under President Joe Biden’s administration, the Fed is accused of being pivotal in Operation Chokepoint 2.0, an alleged plan to hinder the progress of the US crypto industry.

In August, following a Fed mandate directed at crypto-friendly Customers Bank urging tighter risk management and compliance measures, Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss stated that the initiative “is alive and well.”

DeFi as ally

Despite Powell’s conservative tone toward Bitcoin and crypto as an asset class, Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller recently praised DeFi as an ally.

At the Vienna Macroeconomics Workshop on Oct. 18, Waller argued that intermediaries are still fundamental for the financial markets. However, he acknowledged that DeFi applications presented technologies that offer efficiency to traditional financial instruments.

He recognized the benefits of distributed ledger technology (DLT), tokenization, and smart contracts, which can enhance the speed and accuracy of financial transactions.

Moreover, Waller recognized at The Clearing House Annual Conference 2024 on Nov. 12 that central bank digital currencies (CBDC) are not helpful for payments, questioning whether the payments system has a problem that CBDCs could solve.

The post Fed chair Powell views Bitcoin as digital gold, not a dollar competitor appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Read Entire Article
spot_img
- Advertisement -spot_img

Related Posts

Bullish Power Surge or Fading Flame? XRP’s $2.60 Resistance in the Spotlight

XRP’s current trading performance reflects a tug-of-war between bullish momentum and short-term corrections, with its price resting at $256 XRP On the 1-hour chart, XRP experienced an intraday

Large Ethereum Transactions Grow As ETH Breaks Yearly Highs

Ethereum (ETH) is making headlines as it trends toward the $4,100 mark, reaching a new yearly high of $4,096 This milestone, just $3 above the previous high set in March, signals a potential

Global Crypto Power Plays: Which Governments Are Hoarding the Most Bitcoin?

Amid chatter about the US potentially establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve, conversations are buzzing about which governments already stockpile the largest bitcoin stashes Here’s a

Ethereum Price Could Reach New All-Time High With Little Resistance, Analyst Explains Why

The Ethereum price seems to be finally picking up some momentum after several weeks of trailing the remarkable Bitcoin price performance After kickstarting the week with sluggish price action, the

Paul Atkins to the Rescue: Crypto-Focused VCs Cheer Trump’s SEC Appointment

Cryptocurrency-focused venture capital firms are optimistic about President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Paul Atkins as Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Trump’s Picks

Trump, Bitcoin, and the race for tokenized capital markets

The following is a guest article from Jesse Knutson, Head of Operations at Bitfinex Securities Donald Trump’s re-election victory and the massive success of the Bitcoin ETFs earlier in the year