Former US Treasury Secretary Criticizes National Cryptocurrency Reserve Idea. Why?
The US government should organize the process of forming a new national reserve, which will include Bitcoin. This was one of the promises of Donald Trump’s election campaign. Of course, the idea was liked by cryptocurrency fans, and after the politician’s victory in the elections a month ago, it also led to market growth. However, the initiative has its haters – among them is former US Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers.
Where will the national cryptocurrency reserve be?
Summers thinks Trump’s idea of creating a national Bitcoin reserve is “crazy,” though he’s not an outspoken opponent of digital assets. However, he believes that some of the president-elect’s other initiatives in November could have a positive impact on the U.S. economy.
In his latest interview with Bloomberg TV, Summers made the following statement regarding what is happening.
The idea that we should have some kind of national reserve of Bitcoin is just crazy. I understand why we need a national oil reserve. I understand why we stockpiled gold in Fort Knox a hundred years ago. Of all the prices that could be supported, why would the government support Bitcoin?
As cryptocurrency enthusiasts noted, in this remark the former minister clearly showed why he does not really understand the reason for states to accumulate gold. Otherwise, he would not have had any questions about Bitcoin.
BTC is often called a digital analogue of gold, and this was also done this week by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Bitcoin has a limited maximum supply, falling inflation rates, and a transparent blockchain at its core, which makes it easy to check the current supply of the cryptocurrency in circulation. In addition, it is actively bought by large companies like MicroStrategy, and the asset itself is, in retrospect, a good tool for protecting against inflation. All this turns BTC into almost the same thing as precious metal.
Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers
The former minister believes that the interests of the people who supported Trump in the elections are to blame for everything. He continues.
There is no reason to do this other than to pander to generous campaign donors.
During his election campaign, Trump floated the idea that the US government should keep the bitcoins he confiscated – about 198,000 BTC worth more than $19 billion.
Some Trump-aligned Republicans, including Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, have previously introduced legislation that would see the government buy 1 million BTC, or roughly 5 percent of the total supply of coins in circulation.
Cryptocurrencies on the Ethereum wallet of the newly elected US President Donald Trump
At the same time, Summers noted that some of Trump’s statements about cryptocurrencies are entirely justified.
I think we should support financial innovation wherever it comes in. There are probably aspects where cryptocurrencies have been overly stifled by regulators.
According to sources told Cointelegraph , Summers served as Treasury Secretary from 1999 to 2001 during the Clinton administration and was an adviser to the Digital Currency Group (DCG) in 2016.
The long-standing hate towards crypto will eventually have to be apologized for – that’s what journalists from the Financial Times’ FT Alphaville news outlet did, although they did it in a slightly strange manner.
This week, Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 mark per coin, and the portal’s management considered this event worthy of an apology. They were voiced by Bryce Elder, the editor of the FT.
We’re sorry if at any point in the last fourteen years you’ve decided not to buy an asset whose price has risen based on our coverage. It’s nice to see your investment grow. We’re sorry if you’ve misinterpreted our crypto cynicism as a pro-traditional finance statement, because we hate that too.
Apology from FT
For years, FT Alphaville has been arguing that Bitcoin is a “negative-sum game .” They have also claimed that the cryptocurrency is “chronically inefficient” as a medium of exchange and “compromised” as a store of value.
In addition to this, journalists called the Bitcoin price “an indicator of hype that has nothing to do with utility.” However, even the apology caused more negative emotions in the community.
Here, for example, is a tweet from user ran_the_numbers as a reaction.
This is probably the most passive-aggressive and cynical apology I’ve ever heard. Although it’s even more satisfying than a sincere apology.
The blunders in the judgments of Bitcoin critics are confirmed by the facts: after a local correction the day before, the BTC rate again approached the $100,000 mark. Judging by many forecasts, the Bitcoin price will not stay here for long, that is, the crypto will continue to move towards new historical highs.
At the same time, the general perception of cryptocurrency critics is gradually changing. For example, yesterday, CNBC hosts gently mocked a representative of a company from the traditional finance industry that openly ignored Bitcoin. One of them emphasized that financiers missed the opportunity to make 40 percent profit on BTC in the last few weeks.
It seems that the former US Treasury Secretary did not have time to understand the advantages of cryptocurrencies. After all, if a person supports investments in gold, but at the same time opposes Bitcoin, then his knowledge of digital assets has not yet become broad. And taking this into account, it is hardly worth listening to the expert, because his recommendations will lead to lost profits.
Find more interesting things in our crypto chat . There we will also talk about other important topics related to the world of blockchain and the current bull run in the industry.
