G20 head talks some sense about crypto, so let’s rejoice (for now)
If I have to listen to one more finance, business, or economics talking head tell everyone how crypto is the tool of the wicked, the lifeblood of terrorism, or a boon to drug dealers, I’m going to write a strongly worded blog post about it and maybe even a few angry tweets. So, you know, watch out.
Good news for my furious Twitter fingers — G20 Financial Stability Board chair Mark Carney declared that “crypto-assets do not pose risks to global financial stability at this time.” I’m not doing cartwheels just yet, because Carney is also a champion of further regulation of crypto as a means to slow down criminals. That said, us cryptoids have to take what we can get at this stage. Bubble truthers and pearl clutchers are especially vocal during pricing spikes, but haven’t fully receded during the current sluggish market. Positive statements coming from financial institutions matter in the short term.
If you missed episode 5 of Sunset Crypto, I highly recommend checking our our interview with Celsius Network’s Alex Mashinsky. We talked a lot about the next wave of mass crypto adoption coming from people who aren’t fiat speculators. If and when this actually happens, prices will be insulated from the fickle words of people like Carney and no one will care if Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are too narrow-minded to appreciate the value of crypto and the philosophies that drive it.
It remains an amazing feat for the entire space that cryptocurrency has entered the geopolitical sphere to the point that it’s popping up in major circles like the G20. I expect that this kind of thing will still irk many decentralization purists who view a centralized body like the G20 as irrelevant to any discussion on the fate of cryptocurrencies and financial autonomy as both a right and a manifest destiny. In their view, Carney’s comments are intuitive, not a vote of confidence from a central banker.
This is why the long game matters most — prices and making money are great, but seeing which philosophy wins out among the masses is the much more compelling battle.
