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

Hydra Outclasses Visa: Cardano Processes 2 Billion Transactions – Impact On ADA Price

Cardano, once again, has been at the forefront of innovations in the blockchain space through this latest feat Hydra, a layer-2 scaling solution, has successfully performed 2 billion transactions in

Trump Appoints David Sacks as AI and Crypto Czar

President-elect Donald Trump has announced via Truth Social the appointment of entrepreneur and investor David O Sacks as the “White House AI & Crypto Czar” In this newly created role, Sacks

XRP Wobbles but Won’t Fall: Weekly Gains and Prediction Buzz Persist

On Thursday, while bitcoin hit an all-time high in price, XRP, currently the fourth-largest cryptocurrency, faced a less fortunate day It dropped 39% against the US dollar Despite the slip, XRP

How XRP Will Play A Role In The Dogecoin Price Reach $3-$5 In 2025

Despite its notable gains throughout this year, the Dogecoin price has yet to break above its all-time high in 2021, but analysts continue to remain bullish Interestingly, recent analyses from crypto

BONK Finds Stability At $0.00004002, Can Bulls Spark A Comeback?

Recent trading activity indicates that BONK is maintaining stability at the critical $000004002 support level This stabilization comes after a period of downward pressure, raising speculations of a

$1.10 Billion Crypto Liquidation in Bitcoin Crash, What’s Happening?

The post $110 Billion Crypto Liquidation in Bitcoin Crash, What’s Happening appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News A sudden drop in Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest asset has resulted in the