Recent pro-crypto political appointments in the United States have led to “space race” like excitement for crypto that could see the United States become a key part of the digital asset industry, according to TRM Labs’ Ari Redbord.
“There’s this excitement and cadence of almost a space race where the US is now in a position to keep up with the rest of the world or even surpass the rest of the world,” said Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs at TRM Labs, on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Jan. 6.
Redbord, a former prosecutor, pointed out that there have been several pro-crypto key appointments in US federal agencies since Donald Trump’s election victory.
“The people are the policy,” he said, highlighting the nominations of hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, Paul Atkins as Securities and Exchange Commission chair, and venture capitalist David Sacks, who has been tapped to serve as the White House “crypto czar.”
“We’re seeing people up and down the cabinet who have been supportive of digital assets, innovation, and AI,” he said.
Ari Redbord speaking on Squawk Box. Source: CNBC
He continued to state that the what excited him the most was “even beyond Bitcoin,” adding that over the past few months, “we’ve seen fintechs like Stripe and Cash App use stablecoins at scale for payments,”
“Bitcoin traditionally has been an investment mechanism or store of value, but what we’re really seeing is people start to use the technology for cross-border payments, remittances, and to buy things.”
When asked for a Bitcoin (BTC) price prediction, Redbord didn’t provide a figure but said it would go “significantly higher” boosted by incentives such as a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the US and potentially other countries around the world.
Many market analysts are in agreement that the asset will climb higher. On Jan. 7, full-time crypto trader ‘Daan Crypto Trades’ told his 396,000 followers on X that Bitcoin “has only just started its price discovery phase.”
Bitcoin is in a price discovery phase on the monthly chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades
Price discovery refers to the process whereby buyers and sellers interact to determine an asset’s spot price based on demand and supply.
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