The CEO of crypto financial services company Circle has said that Facebook’s Libra digital currency proves that crypto assets are here to stay. Jeremy Allaire also seemed optimistic that the newly-detailed project would be good long-term for Bitcoin.
With regards regulators’ reactions to Libra, the executive said he was pleased to see lawmakers finally starting to look at the industry more seriously.
Jeremy Allaire: Libra Could Expose Crypto Assets to Billions
Speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” segment earlier today, Jeremy Allaire, the chief executive officer of crypto financial services firm Circle, gave his thoughts on the recent Bitcoin price surge, as well as Facebook’s impact on the market. He first said that he thought the social media giant’s recently-detailed foray into crypto could turn the hundreds of millions of users crypto has now into billions. Like other commentators, the CEO argues that it could allow for a convenient on ramp and give many people a first taste of what using a purely digital currency is all about.
He speculates that this may make people question the very concept of money further. If they become disenchanted with a company-issued asset, they may well transition into using purely decentralised digital coins, like Bitcoin.
In relation to the regulatory attention that Facebook has received since detailing Libra, Allaire argues that it is great for the industry that regulators are finally starting to look at these financial instruments properly. He stated:
“It is now very clear that cryptocurrency is here to stay, it’s going to be massive scale, it’s going play a fundamental role in the transformation of the system.”
He then calls upon regulators to “listen and learn” from the fast-growing industry, which he describes as a “major breakthrough in the global economy.”
Circle CEO Allaire: National attention on crypto suggests it’s here to stay from CNBC.
Later in the interview, Allaire patiently sets straight an aggressive presenter, bleating about “crypto crap” being for drug dealers and other questionable uses since the market is entirely unregulated. He calmly responds by saying that cryptocurrency has been regulated in the US since 2013 and that exchanges and other service providers in the nation all comply with AML and KYC legislation.
After fending off multiple interruptions relating to stablecoins and their use, Allaire claims that it is a matter of “when”, rather than “if” the US Treasury will accept tax payments in Bitcoin – something that seems to be the presenter’s major defining characteristic of legitimacy. The Circle CEO then argues that crypto is much more than just its early financial application:
“What we are seeing is that there is a new infrastructure layer of the internet, it’s not just about currency, it’s a fundamental new infrastructure for a very broad range of services, applications, information apps. It’s a major architectural shift, currencies are just an app on top of that.”
Finally, Allaire states that this “mega-trend” will be larger than the web and that projects emerging from the current crypto space will go on to form the backbone of a new financial system. He concludes by stating that in the next decade it will no longer be possible to extract value from financial transactions, thus many rent-seeker type roles in banking will no longer be needed.
Related Reading: Billionaire Investor: Bitcoin (BTC) to Hit $20,000 as Institutions Continue Sortie
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