Seeds of Wisdom RV and Economic Updates Wednesday Evening 12-04-24

05/12/2024

Good Evening ,

FED CHAIR POWELL VIEWS BITCOIN AS DIGITAL GOLD, NOT A DOLLAR COMPETITOR

Powell reiterated his remarks on Bitcoin being used solely for speculative purposes, not being a competitor for the US dollar.

The Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell dismissed the notion of Bitcoin as a replacement for the U.S. dollar, instead framing the leading crypto as a speculative asset comparable to gold.

Powell shared his insights during an appearance at The New York Times DealBook Summit in Manhattan, emphasizing Bitcoin’s volatility and limited use as a form of payment or store of value.

According to Powell:

“It’s just like gold, only it’s virtual… It’s very volatile, it’s not a competitor for the dollar, it’s really a competitor for gold. That’s how I think of it.”

Powell’s comments come amid heightened speculation about Bitcoin’s growing influence in global finance. Crypto recently achieved a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, surpassing silver, valued at $1.75 trillion, to become the world’s eighth most valuable asset. However, it remains far behind gold, which holds an estimated market value of $18 trillion.

This is not the first time Powell has used this comparison to address Bitcoin. In 2021, the Fed chair said that crypto is not useful as a store of value due to its intrinsic volatility, with Bitcoin being “essentially a substitute for gold, rather than for the dollar.”

Under President Joe Biden’s administration, the Fed is accused of being pivotal in Operation Chokepoint 2.0, an alleged plan to hinder the progress of the US crypto industry.

In August, following a Fed mandate directed at crypto-friendly Customers Bank urging tighter risk management and compliance measures, Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss stated that the initiative “is alive and well.”

DeFi as ally
Despite Powell’s conservative tone toward Bitcoin and crypto as an asset class, Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller recently praised DeFi as an ally.

At the Vienna Macroeconomics Workshop on Oct. 18, Waller argued that intermediaries are still fundamental for the financial markets. However, he acknowledged that DeFi applications presented technologies that offer efficiency to traditional financial instruments.

He recognized the benefits of distributed ledger technology (DLT), tokenization, and smart contracts, which can enhance the speed and accuracy of financial transactions.

Moreover, Waller recognized at The Clearing House Annual Conference 2024 on Nov. 12 that central bank digital currencies (CBDC) are not helpful for payments, questioning whether the payments system has a problem that CBDCs could solve.

@ Newshounds News™

Source: Crypto Slate

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RIPPLE’S RLUSD STABLECOIN SET TO LAUNCH TODAY, WHAT’S NEXT FOR XRP?

The highly anticipated launch of Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, is expected to take place today, December 4, 2024. However, Ripple is reportedly awaiting approval from the New York Department of Financial Services, according to local media reports.

What is RLUSD?
Ripple USD (RLUSD), a 1:1 USD-backed stablecoin, offers transparency and stability on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum. With the launch of RLUSD, Ripple aims to leverage both its stablecoin and native token, XRP, to enhance its cross-border payment solutions.

At present, Ripple Labs has warned investors and institutions to avoid engaging with any token claiming to be RLUSD or Ripple USD before its official launch to prevent falling victim to scams. Despite this warning, RLUSD is currently listed on the cryptocurrency data platform CoinGecko.

Since August 2024, Ripple has been beta testing its RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum’s mainnet. The firm has shared plans to gradually expand RLUSD to more blockchains and DeFi protocols in the future.

Will RLUSD Impact XRP Price?
Despite the RLUSD launch, Ripple’s native token XRP, has already gained significant attention over the past week. Furthermore, experts anticipate a notable upward momentum for XRP once RLUSD becomes available on exchanges.

Currently, XRP is trading near $2.55 and has registered a price decline of 2.55% in the past 24 hours. During the same period, its trading volume dropped by $28%, indicating lower participation from traders and investors amid a bullish outlook.