Cynthia Lummis (a U.S. Republican Senator from Wyoming) believes that the Federal Reserve should hold bitcoins on its balance sheets. Speaking on the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation’s crypto webinar panel, Lummis said that once a regulatory policy is in place it “will make a lot of sense.”
A former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve believes that crypto perspectives have changed with the advent of stablecoins
Orrin G. Hatch Foundation has published a video webinar with Bitstamp CEO Bobby Zagotta. Also, Cynthia Lummis (Republican senator from Wyoming), is featured in the video. Matt Sandgren, the host of the webinar mentioned that bitcoin in its early days was not met with much enthusiasm from Wall Street and Washington. Sandgren said that things are changing now and Quarles asked him if he agrees with his perspective.
“I think in the early years it wasn’t really clear what the widespread use case would be for bitcoin or similar crypto assets,” Quarles replied. “They solved some technical issues in the payment system but the price volatility made them ill-suited to be an actual payments mechanism. The principal attraction seems to be anonymity and independence from the regulated financial system. Neither of those are going to be terribly attractive to Washington.” Quarles continued:
For Wall Street, if you are an investor considering a novel technology with an unclear use case that’s likely to attract unwelcome attention from regulators and law enforcement you’re going to move slowly.
Quarles said then that the world is changing for several reasons, one being stablecoins. He thinks because stablecoins “tame the volatility” they are more useful.
US Senator Lummis: I Think It’s a Great Idea for the Fed to Hold Bitcoin
Following Quarles’ statements and a description of what cryptocurrency is from Bitstamp’s Zagotta, Lummis told Sandgren that she thought it was a “great idea” for the Federal Reserve to purchase bitcoin and hold it on its balance sheet. “Once there is a statutory and regulatory framework, that will make a lot of sense — The fact that bitcoin is completely decentralized, it’s going to make it over time more ubiquitous,” Lummis remarked. Wyoming senator Lummis added:
Ich denke [bitcoin]The Fed must keep this information on its balance sheet.
Cynthia Lummis, Senator from Kentucky has long been a supporter of digital currencies and bitcoin. She recently thanked God that she purchased more bitcoin during the U.S. Congress’ discussion on raising the debt ceiling. During the first week of October, Lummis disclosed that she purchased more bitcoin and said she sees BTC as an “excellent store of value.”
However, panel speaker Quarles did not agree with Lummis’ opinion, and he stressed it is unlikely that the U.S. central bank will add BTC to its balance sheet. “For a lot of political, economic reasons,” Quarles said. “I think that it’s best to keep the Fed’s balance sheet.”
Lummis stated again during her panel presentations that bitcoin was a store-of-value, rare, and predictable. “Bitcoin is digital gold — it’s hard money — There will only be 21 million ever produced,” Lummis insisted during the panel webinar.
Are you a U.S. senator Cynthia Lummis suggesting that the Fed keep Bitcoin on its balance sheets? Please comment below to let us know your thoughts on this topic.
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