In an unprecedented turn of events, bitcoin received the endorsement of two of the world's most influential leaders yesterday. US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Russian President Vladimir Putin independently acknowledged the growing importance of cryptocurrency during separate events on December 4, 2024. Their comments signal a potential paradigm shift in the global financial landscape, as bitcoin continues to gain widespread acceptance.
Jerome Powell compares bitcoin to gold
During the New York Times DealBook Summit, Jerome Powell spoke with Andrew Sorkin about the role of cryptocurrencies in the banking system. When asked about bitcoin's growing prominence and talks in Washington about creating a strategic btc reserve, Powell outlined the Federal Reserve's outlook.
“Of the jobs we have, what's really relevant are two things,” Powell said. “One is, you know, what role cryptoassets should be allowed to play in the banking system. We try to keep the banking system safe and sound. “We regulate and supervise banks, and we want the interaction between the cryptocurrency business and banks to not threaten the health and well-being of banks.”
Powell added that the other task of the US Federal Reserve is consumer protection. “We want the public to know about crypto products and things like that. There is sort of a consumer protection aspect. They need to understand exactly what it is. But we don't regulate it directly and we don't have that big of a role.”
When asked if he would ever own bitcoin, Powell succinctly responded: “I'm not allowed to.”
Sorkin then suggested that btc could symbolize people's faith (or lack thereof) in the US dollar or the Federal Reserve. Powell responded by comparing bitcoin to a traditional store of value: “I don't think people think like that. I mean, people use bitcoin as a speculative asset, right? It's like gold. It's like gold, only it's virtual. It's digital. People do not use it as a form of payment or as a store of value. It is very volatile. It is not a competitor for the dollar. It's truly a contender for gold. You know, that's really how I see it.”
Vladimir Putin highlights the resilience of bitcoin
On the same day, President Vladimir Putin spoke at the Russia Calling forum, where he discussed the declining dominance of the US dollar and the rise of alternative financial instruments. Putin emphasized the inevitability of new technologies like btc in reshaping the global economy.
“Using the dollar as a world currency gives the United States a lot of money,” Putin said. “Thanks to the dollar, the United States continues to exploit other economies in the world for its benefit. It is one thing to prohibit the use of the dollar and another to not use it. That is why we see (economic) processes with the use of other instruments.”
He added pointedly: “For example, who can ban bitcoin? Nobody. And who can prohibit the use of other electronic payment methods? Nobody. Because these are new technologies. And no matter what happens to the dollar, these tools will develop one way or another, because everyone will strive to reduce costs and increase reliability.”
Putin also commented on the global shift away from the dollar: “Even America's allied countries reduced their foreign exchange reserves in dollars and euros.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet”>
Today…
Jerome Powell: “It's like gold, only it's virtual. It's digital. People do not use it as a form of payment or as a store of value. It is very volatile. It is not a competitor for the dollar. “He is a contender for gold.”
Vladimir Putin: “For example, bitcoin, which… pic.twitter.com/kWenz2kMJB
-Sam Callahan (@samcallah) <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/samcallah/status/1864412379582259331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>December 4, 2024
Community reactions
Powell and Putin's endorsement sparked immediate reactions from prominent figures in the cryptocurrency space. Vijay Boyapati, former Google engineer and author known for his book The Bullish Case for bitcoin, took <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/real_vijay/status/1864417786858229953″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>express his thoughts: “Jerome Powell calling bitcoin digital gold is the biggest endorsement of bitcoin yet, if you understand where the financial power lies. Bigger than Fink or even Trump.”
David Bailey, CEO of btc Inc and advisor to former President Trump's team, who was instrumental in Trump becoming pro-bitcoin, also <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/DavidFBailey/status/1864345685010587866″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>heavy via x: “The bitcoin space race is here. (…) What is happening couldn't be clearer. It should be a national priority to maintain the bitcoin Strategic Reserve in the first 100 days of the Trump administration. “We need an aggressive plan to increase the US’s proportional ownership of the bitcoin supply.”
At the time of publication, btc was trading at $102,335.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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