Should The Federal Reserve Add Bitcoin To Its Balance Sheet?
By Mike Hobart The Hatch Center, the policy arm of national think tank the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, hosted a webinar on "crypto" on February 16. Director Matt Sandgren was joined by U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles, and Bitstamp CEO Robert Zagotta to discuss ensuring regulations coming out of D.C. wouldn't hamper or become detrimental to the cryptocurrency economy and innovation happening in Bitcoin.
The conversation took an interesting turn when Lummis was asked: "If the Federal Reserve currently holds more than $40 billion in foreign currencies on its balance sheet, Why not add bitcoin?"
Senator Lummis shed light on why she believes it is a great idea, citing how Bitcoin has and can continue to co-exist alongside the U.S. dollar and at the same time improve the landscape of financial inclusion.The fact that bitcoin is decentralized, makes it over time more ubiquitous. Although some might believe this is an extreme decision, she reminded everyone that mortgage-backed securities were not added to the Fed's balance sheet until the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. | 