In an unprecedented turn of events, Bitcoin received endorsements from two of the world’s most influential leaders yesterday. US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Russian President Vladimir Putin independently acknowledged the cryptocurrency’s growing significance during separate events on December 4, 2024. Their remarks signal a potential paradigm shift in the global financial landscape, as Bitcoin continues to gain mainstream acceptance.
Jerome Powell Compares Bitcoin To Gold
During the New York Times DealBook Summit, Jerome Powell engaged in a conversation with Andrew Sorkin about the role of cryptocurrencies in the banking system. When questioned about Bitcoin’s rising prominence and talks in Washington about creating a strategic BTC reserve, Powell outlined the Federal Reserve’s perspective.
“From the jobs that we have, what’s relevant is really two things,” Powell said. “One is just, you know, what role should crypto assets 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 would want the interaction between the crypto business and the banks to not threaten the health and wellbeing of the banks.”
Powell added that the other task of the US Federal Reserve is consumer protection. “We would want the public to know crypto products and things like that. There’s sort of a consumer protection aspect of it. 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 himself, Powell succinctly replied, “I’m not allowed to.”
Sorkin then suggested that BTC might symbolize people’s faith—or lack thereof—in the US dollar or the Federal Reserve. Powell responded by likening Bitcoin to a traditional store of value: “I don’t think that’s how people think about it. I mean, people use Bitcoin as a speculative asset, right? It’s like gold. It’s just like gold, only it’s virtual. It’s digital. People are not using it as a form of payment or as a store of value. It’s highly volatile. It’s not a competitor for the dollar. It’s really a competitor for gold. You know, that’s really how I think of it.”
Vladimir Putin Highlights Bitcoin’s Resilience
On the same day, President Vladimir Putin spoke at the Russia Calling forum, where he discussed the diminishing 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.
“The use of the dollar as a world currency gives the US a lot of money,” Putin stated. “Thanks to the dollar, the US continues to exploit other economies of the world for their benefit. One thing is to prohibit the use of dollars and the other thing is not to use it. That is why we see (economic) processes with the use of other instruments.”
He pointedly added, “For instance, who can ban Bitcoin? Nobody. And who can prohibit the use of other electronic means of payment? 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 the countries that are allies of the US reduced their currency reserves in dollars and in euros.”
Today…
Jerome Powell: “It’s just like gold only it’s virtual. It’s digital. People are not using it as a form of payment or as a store of value. It’s highly volatile. It’s not a competitor for the dollar. It’s a competitor for gold.”
Vladimir Putin: “For example, Bitcoin, who… pic.twitter.com/kWenz2kMJB
— Sam Callahan (@samcallah) December 4, 2024
Reactions From Community
The endorsements from Powell and Putin sparked immediate reactions from prominent figures in the cryptocurrency space. Vijay Boyapati, a former Google engineer and author known for his book The Bullish Case for Bitcoin, took to X to express his thoughts: “Jerome Powell calling Bitcoin digital gold is the biggest endorsement of Bitcoin yet, if you understand where 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 turning Trump pro-Bitcoin —also weighed in via X: “The Bitcoin Space Race is here. […] It couldn’t be more clear what’s happening. It must be a national priority to stand up the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in the first 100 days of the Trump admin. We need an aggressive plan to grow USA’s proportional ownership of the Bitcoin supply.”
At press time, BTC traded at $102,335.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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