US Federal Reserve chairman thinks bitcoin is like gold, Trump disagrees

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, in general, have been compared to a lot of things and gold is now one of them. This is courtesy of Jerome Powell, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve when he said that the crypto coin is being treated as something with a “speculative store of value.” He also believes that this could be an era in which people are using several currencies for different purposes.

The Fed chair recently made these comments while talking about Facebook Libra and its potential impact on the economy, Coindesk reports. While he did bring up its threat to various aspects of everyday life, including privacy, he did view cryptocurrency with more warmth, in general.

“The size of Facebook’s network means it could be, essentially, immediately systemically important,” he said and then later adding, “Almost no one uses bitcoin for payments, they use it more as an alternative to gold. It’s a speculative store of value.”

Crypto enthusiasts are already jumping for joy at the prospect of a major US financial official not branding the entire industry as a house of cards. However, not everyone in the government is a fan of digital currencies. In fact, the figure with the highest office in the land, Donald Trump just expressed his distaste for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, The Guardian reports.

“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air,” Trump’s post on social media reads. “If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks, both National and International.”

This appears to be a reaction to Powell’s seeming endorsement of the use of cryptocurrencies. It acts as another one of Trump’s antics in countering the opinions of government officials.