The Genuine Crypto Critics Who Unintentionally Make It Stronger
Part II - Christine Lagarde & Janet Yellen
You are the hypothetical employee we created on June 1 for the purpose of telling a story through a person’s eyes who is determined to get to financial truths. This is the last week before you share a draft of the next investor alert for crypto. This week is all about crypto critics who have genuine concerns about crypto but nevertheless call it an investment. Yesterday, you started with Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Senator and staunch consumer products advocate. Who is next?
As you start your thinking process, you consider what others have been saying about all things Bitcoin. “Well, Bitcoin is being called a currency, right?” Obviously, you have looked at bankers and banks before; Jamie Dimon is infamous for calling Bitcoin worthless. Goldman Sachs was going in that direction as well but later changed course, becoming a Bitcoin supporter.
“What about central banks?” you wonder. “What about the U.S. Treasury?” Any views on Bitcoin from those institutions?
With that, you have decided on a pair of research subjects for today. Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank and Janet Yellen, an American economist serving as the 78th United States Secretary of the Treasury.
This is a long video - but if you are so inclined, please start at 12:30 and watch through 18:15.
Sometimes she sounds just like Jamie Dimon. At 15:28, for example, she states:
My very humble assessment is that [crypto] is worth… Nothing.
And at other times, she sounds very much like Elizabeth Warren:
If you want to invest there, it’s your choice.
And:
What I’m really concerned about when it comes to crypto assets is that those investments be made by people who have their eyes wide open about the fact that they can lose it all.
And:
I actually have a son who invested in cryptos.
One of the most accomplished bureaucrats of our generation couldn’t convince her son not to “invest” in crypto. One can only wonder whether the results would be different if she told him that he is speculating, not investing.
You now come to this side of the pond. Here is what Janet Yellen has to say:
It’s not something that I would recommend to most people who are saving for their retirement. To me it's a very risky investment.
“They can argue that investing in crypto is risky all they want, but that won’t break the perceived equivalence of crypto and stocks,” you conclude. The definition is where it starts. We have to build consensus on the language first. Otherwise, our warnings will fall on deaf ears.”
