Article Image

IPFS News Link • Federal Reserve

Federal Reserve Pres: People Want Dollar, Not Volatile Crypto

• https://news.bitcoin.com

St. Louis Federal Reserve President, James Bullard, was recently interviewed at this year's Consensus conference in New York City. That a top US economic policy maker was in attendance is victory enough; however, he was asked his opinions on cryptocurrency going forward by CNBC Global Markets Reporter Seema Mody. He explained he found the phenomenon "interesting," and how more cryptos being issued all time necessitates keeping an "eye" on them. Mr. Bullard also compared the use case for cryptocurrencies with that of the dollar, and whether the former posed a threat to the latter.  

Federal Reserve President Attends Crypto Conference

Federal Reserve President, James Bullard, gave a presentation at this year's giant Consensus conference in New York City. Reread that sentence. A sitting Fed policy maker thought it important enough to attend a crypto soiree. That's news enough. But more importantly, President Bullard gave a presentation on the government's current thinking about cryptocurrency.

In his talk, he acknowledged crypto is facilitating trade that might otherwise not occur. He couldn't help himself by mentioning illegal activity (and we all know fiat currencies are never used in illegal activity), but he did describe decentralized money's lean toward frictionless transactions (especially with regard to costs/fees) as being an advancement.

Federal Reserve Pres: People Want Dollar, Not Volatile Crypto

Mr. Bullard and Ms. Mody

The Fed policy maker reserved the bulk of his comments, both in the presentation and during a post-game interview with CNBC, to talk about the problems in crypto as he sees them. One issue is simply the number of currencies being offered. The 12th St. Louis Fed President feels this over complicates matters, especially with regard to exchange rates and volatility.

Asked if cryptocurrencies pose a threat to the dollar, Mr. Bullard, 56, answered he didn't think so. Global Markets Reporter Seema Mody, who is covering Consensus for CNBC this year, quickly followed up with a "but it could be?" The Fed President was noncommittal, choosing instead to shrug and give the pat answer about no one really knowing what the future holds. He emphasized how since its creation the US dollar has vanquished nearly all currency competition due to its being backed by the world's strongest economy. It's abundantly clear, Mr. Bullard suggested, people want the dollar and not crypto … at least at the moment.


www.BlackMarketFridays.com