Recent comments from officials at two of the world’s largest central banks indicate growing acceptance that bitcoin is the future.
Last week, spokespeople from two of the world’s largest and most significant central banks, Robert Kaplan of the Federal Reserve and Lo Bi of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), provided insight into their views on Bitcoin and how the central banks currently think of the asset.
Kaplan, the current president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and prior member of the Federal Open Market Committee, had this to say during Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School’s Bitcoin Conference:
“Right now, it’s clear it’s a store of value… It obviously moves a lot in value, which could keep it from spreading too far as a medium of exchange and wide adoption, but that can change.”
Kaplan’s remarks are quite significant, as the acknowledgment of bitcoin as a store of value further legitimizes the asset that earlier in the year crossed $1 trillion in market capitalization.
Additionally, Bo, a deputy governor of the PBOC, had this to say at the Boao Forum for Asia regarding bitcoin and cryptocurrency assets.
“We believe that Bitcoin and stablecoins are encrypted assets,” said Li. “Encrypted assets are an investment option, not currency itself. It is an alternative investment, not currency itself. Therefore, we believe that crypto assets should play a major role in the future, either as an investment tool or as an alternative investment.”
The comments can be seen as strong statements of support from officials working at two of the largest central banks of the two dominant global superpowers. The dynamic becomes even more interesting as talk of game theoretic competition between China and the United States has picked up in recent weeks, with comments from technologist Peter Theil and U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy fanning the flame, for instance.
“[Bitcoin] is something that those who regulate, those who are in government that make policy, better start understanding what it means for the future because other countries are moving forward, especially China,” McCarthy said recently. “I do not want America to fall behind. I want the next century to be ours.”
It is obvious to those with an understanding of Bitcoin that there is great geopolitical significance in regards to nation states adopting it, and the comments over the weekend provide yet another interesting development in the acceptance of bitcoin as a monetary asset in the legacy financial system.
