Former Treasury Secretary: “Bitcoin could be essential for internet commerce”. The renowned American economist called the main cryptocurrency “digital gold.” Although he does not see absolute adoption in the future, he does believe that this technology will endure.
Former Treasury Secretary Says Bitcoin Could Be Essential For Internet CommerceLawrence Summers, former US Secretary of the Treasury from 1995 to 1999 and former director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010, said in an interview that bitcoin (BTC) “could be critical” for e-commerce. In addition, he stressed that “cryptocurrencies are here to stay” and that they will be “part of the system for quite some time.”
In a television interview with Bloomberg , the former director of the World Bank stated that “there is a long-standing human desire to own an asset that is perceived as alien to the day-to-day agenda of governments.”
In that sense, he added that “gold has been the primary asset of this type for a long time” while qualifying cryptocurrencies “as a type of digital gold” and assured that they have “the opportunity to become a consensual way of conserving wealth ”.
To argue his positive forecasts for the future of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Summers said: “Imagine that cryptocurrencies reached half, or even a third of the value of gold; that would be a great appreciation from current levels. ” This would lead them, according to their criteria, to stay in the system for a long time.
Ultimately, he contextualized his omens about crypto assets by putting ‘cold cloths’ on the situation:’ I doubt that in the future we will make most of our payments using bitcoin or that cryptocurrencies will lead to a ‘libertarian paradise’, but they will become essential for online commerce ”.
The Treasury Department’s turnaround
Beyond the vision of Summers, a prestigious American economist who currently serves as a professor at Charles W. Eliot University and is president emeritus of Harvard University, today the United States Department of the Treasury has a position oriented to stricter regulation of cryptocurrencies.
As CriptoNoticias reported recently, this body is even training people to investigate bitcoin addresses. It was clarified, however, that the measure is intended to learn more about people on the blacklists related to terrorist activities and drug trafficking.
However, Janet Yellen , who occupies the position in which Summers served during the presidency of Bill Clinton , has shown a change of opinion that is perceived more favorable than a while ago for the cryptocurrency community. In fact, this medium has reported some of its speeches during 2021 in which it has stated that it will advocate for a legitimate use of these new technologies.
