Bitcoin doomed as a payment system and its novelty will fade, says Federal Reserve Board of Governors member
The United States doesn't need a central bank digital currency (CBDC) because such a thing will not notably improve the nation's financial system. And also, the US dollar isn't threatened by digital currencies nor other nations' CBDCs, so what's the point?
So said Randal K Quarles, a member of the US Federal Reserve's Board of Governors and its Vice Chair for Supervision, in a speech delivered on Monday to the 113th Annual Utah Bankers Association Convention.
Quarles said one argument he hears in favor of a US CBDC – a government-created cryptocurrency, essentially – is to counter private cryptocurrencies, which he divided into two classes: stablecoins; and non-stablecoins, such as Bitcoin and other cryptoassets. As one might very well expect, the vice chair was not kind to Bitcoin, which he likened to gold inasmuch as it is scarce and its price fluctuates.
"Unlike gold, however, which has industrial uses and aesthetic attributes quite apart from its vestigial financial role, Bitcoin's principal additional attractions are its novelty and its anonymity," he added.
