Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, recently stated that cryptocurrencies should be seen as an independent asset class, rather than being conflated with gold as is often seen.
Daly said on a podcast, "I think cryptocurrencies are complex, and we need to provide services that truly interpret their meaning and, after doing that, call them cryptocurrencies."
She continued, "It can be a currency. It may be a medium of exchange... It can also be a stock—an asset that retains value or sometimes depreciates. We just need to define these terms."
"So I don't think it is gold. It just sometimes has properties like gold, but I don't think (it is the same asset as gold)," she added.
Daly's assessment differs slightly from that of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whose comments on Bitcoin earlier this month energized the crypto community.
Powell stated at the time, "People view Bitcoin as a speculative asset. But I think it is like gold; it is just virtual, it is digitized. People do not see it as a means of payment or a store of value. It is very volatile. It is not a competitor to the dollar, but it is indeed a competitor to gold."
To some extent, Daly also agrees with Powell's view that cryptocurrencies are not yet ready to become currency.
She explained, "The attribute it needs is that it must grow with economic growth. So its value does not change just because people want it. Just as the value of a dollar bill does not appreciate when more people want it. The fluctuations of the dollar are caused by the economy and our growth rate relative to other countries. Therefore, to be considered a currency, it must perfect this attribute."
However, while cryptocurrencies seem to have a long way to go to be recognized as currency by Congress, it has not stopped the momentum behind the bullish trading of various digital assets.
Since Donald Trump's election on November 5, the most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has continued to perform well, breaking the $100,000 mark for the first time on December 4. Since election day, the price of Bitcoin has risen by 38%, and it has increased by 106% this year.
Moreover, year-to-date, crypto-related stocks like Coinbase and Robinhood have surged 45% and 204%, respectively.
Mark Palmer, an analyst at investment bank Benchmark Company, said, "The mere fact that someone is focused on making the U.S. a leader in cryptocurrency, Bitcoin mining, and other areas mentioned by President Trump is already a huge change. Our analysis assumes that by the end of 2026, the price of Bitcoin will reach $225,000."
"We are seeing more and more institutions adopting Bitcoin, which is key," he added.#BTC☀