
During testimony Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell dropped a Bitcoin bombshell when he said he does not intend to ban cryptocurrencies or Bitcoin.
The two-hour long meeting was originally intended as a forum for congressional reps to get an update on pandemic preparedness from the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve. However the leaders from the Fed and Treasury fielded several questions about cryptocurrencies.
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The most significant exchange of the day occurred between Federal Reserve chair Powell and Rep.Ted Budd (R-N.C.), a member of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and a staunch crypto supporter. Congressman Budd asked Powell to clarify statements made back in July when the central bank chief said creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) could reduce the need for private stablecoins and cryptos in general
When representative Budd point blank asked if the Fed head planned to โ…ban or limit the use of cryptocurrencies…โ Powellโs response was a resounding โNo.โ
โ[I have] no intention of intention to ban them,โ
Powell said.
However, Powell did say stablecoins need greater regulatory oversight, comparing them to bank deposits or money market accounts.
โTheyโre to some extent outside the regulatory perimeter, and itโs appropriate that they be regulated. Same activity, same regulation [as deposits and money markets],โ
he said.
That got us thinking at the DailyCoin, it might be timely to draw the Bitcoin battle lines between bears and bulls among Wall Street investors and traders to see where they stand. But not the regular pundits such as the Michael Saylors, Warren Buffets, Elon Musks, Jamie Dimons of investing, but rather names you may not have heard from before –ย traders a few steps down the financial food chain.
Bloomberg has a great roundup article that catalogs the comments of dozens of professional inventors and their respective stances on the topic of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin over the years. Here are some sample quotes, with corresponding links to their source articles.
BITCOIN BULLS
GLOBAL HEAD OF COMMODITIES RESEARCH, GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC.
โI donโt see why there is all this hostility to it.โ Bitcoin is โnot much different than goldโ because it doesnโt have liability attached to it, by definition, like a security.
FOUNDER, IKIGAI ASSET MANAGEMENT, A CRYPTO HEDGE-FUND
โItโs too good a store of value to be a good value of exchange. If the expectation is the price is going to increase meaningfully, you donโt want to pay out all of your Bitcoins for everyday use.โ
FOUNDER, MILLER VALUE PARTNERS
โIf inflation picks up, or even if it doesnโt, and more companies decide to diversify some small portion of their cash balances into Bitcoin instead of cash, then the current relative trickle into Bitcoin would become a torrent. Warren Buffett famously called Bitcoin rat poison. He may well be right. Bitcoin could be rat poison, and the rat could be cash.โ
BITCOIN BEARS
HEAD OF INVESTMENT-STRATEGY GROUP, INVESTMENT-MANAGEMENT DIVISION, GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC.
โSomething with a long-term volatility of 80% canโt be considered a medium of exchange. Just because everybody piles into an idea and talks it up doesnโt mean itโs a store of value.โ
SENIOR ADVISER, RESEARCH AFFILIATES
โWhatโs going to happen to Bitcoin? Itโs really unclear. The price is not just driven by the money-supply rule, itโs driven by other speculative forces. Thatโs why itโs multiple times more volatile than the stock market.โ
OANDA CORP.
โCryptocurrencies are in trouble. The entire crypto space is selling off. The market carnage of the past few days has investors questioning Bitcoinโs true value.โ
On The Flipside
- It doesnโt matter how sound an asset is or how valid its use case – there will ALWAYS be detractors and critics.
- Donโt be swayed by opinion and hyperbole – unless itโs opinion and hyperbole from the big brains at DailyCoin.com and DailyCoin TV.
Why You Should Care?
It seems the rhetoric surrounding crypto is often more volatile than the price action. Given this constant state of controversy, itโs important for you to know what your investment goals are, why you want to invest in a specific asset, and for you to conduct your own research. No one cares as much about your investments as you do.