On January 21st, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly addressed remarks made by the Governor of the French Central Bank regarding Bitcoin. Armstrong questioned the governor’s skepticism about a Bitcoin standard, stating that Bitcoin is a decentralized protocol with no single issuer.
He emphasized that it operates independently of any country, company, or individual, making it a unique form of money in the modern financial system.
The French Governor expressed caution, noting that monetary policy and money are part of national sovereignty and democracy. He stressed that public oversight has historically been central to maintaining trust in currencies, from gold and silver to banknotes and CBDCs.
According to him, private forms of money, including tokenized money like BTC, must be regulated to inspire confidence and maintain stability in payment systems.
The governor also highlighted that money has traditionally been a public-private partnership. While the public anchor has changed, from gold and silver to banknotes and now CBDCs, the key function of maintaining trust and oversight remains with public institutions.
He pointed out that tokenized private money plays an important role in payments but requires proper regulation to ensure reliability.
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The topic was about how BTC relates to normal money. The governor mentioned that cryptocurrencies can be useful for fiat money when people stop trusting government money.
He mentioned that in places such as Argentina, Turkey, and Nigeria, people tend to seek assets that they believe will retain value when their currencies inflate.
Armstrong compared the fixed supply of BTC to gold, stating that it cannot be devalued like fiat currency by a central authority. He stated that the structure of BTC provides an accountability system that promotes responsible fiscal policies.
Although he believes in independent central banks with democratic ideals, Armstrong stated that BTC provides an extra level of independence, allowing individuals to place their trust wherever they choose in financial systems.
Armstrong said that BTC and fiat money can coexist in a competitive but complementary manner. It is a good balance to the deficit spending of governments and allows people to choose the currency they trust the most.
Armstrong explained that Bitcoin’s decentralized system makes money more accountable and transparent, giving people around the world a choice.
He also stated that this competition helps with accountability and trust, allowing fiat money and Bitcoin to work together instead of competing against each other, giving people more ways to protect their value.
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