NeelKashkari,presidentoftheFederalReserveBankofMinneapolis,hammeredcryptoagain,claimingthatlegitimatetransactionsarerare.
Accordingtohim,theonlyreasonmostpeopletouchcryptoisforillegalpurposeslikedrugs.“Peoplearebuyingandsellingcrypto,”hesaid,buttheyaren’tusingittopayforthingslegally.
Unlessit’sdrugsorillegalstuff,heclaimed,cryptobarelyseesanyaction.Kashkarihasbeenalong-timecriticofcrypto.
He’sbeenloudabouthisbeliefthattheentireindustryisfullofhype,scams,andfraud.Hiscommentsdatebacktoatleast2022whenhecomparedBitcointonothingmorethanaspeculativefad,likeningittoBeanieBabies.Backthen,heslammedBitcoinforhavingnorealvalue,pointingoutthatit’smostlyusedforspeculation.
Adeclineincryptocrimes
Meanwhile,datashowsthatthevalueofcryptosenttoillegaladdressesfellto$24.2billionin2023,downfrom$39.6billionin2022.
Butevenwiththatdrop,theillegalportionofthemarketstillmadeup0.34%oftotaltransactionsin2023,comparedto0.42%theyearbefore.
Stablecoins,particularlyTether(USDT),havebecomethetoolofchoiceforcriminals.Bitcoin,theoriginalstarofcrypto,istakingabackseattothesestablecoinsduetotheirstability.
Criminalsprefersomethingthatdoesn’tswingwildlyinpricewhiletheymovemoneyaround.In2023,stablecoinswereatthecenterofillegalactivitiesinthecryptospace,takingthecrownfromBitcoin.
Ransomwareanddarknetmarketscontinuethrivingthough.In2023,ransomwareattackspulledinabout$1.1billionincryptopayments.
Meanwhile,darknetmarkets,wherepeoplebuydrugsandotherillegalthings,rackedupsalesofaround$1.6billion.
KashkarionFed’sratecuts
WhileKashkari’sharshviewoncryptoremainsunchanged,healsotouchedonotherissuesduringhisspeechinWisconsin.
HetalkedabouttheFed’sratecuts,sayinghesupportsthebigger-than-usualcuttheymadelastmonthbutexpectssmallercutsmovingforward.
“RightnowIamforecastingsomemoremodestcutsoverthenextseveralquarters,”Kashkarisaid.Lastmonth,theFedslashedratesbyhalfapointforthefirsttimesincethepandemichit.
Kashkaribelievesfuturecutswillbemoremodestunlessthere’sclearevidencethatthelabormarketisfallingapart.
Sofar,datashowshiringwasstrongerthanexpected,andinflationhitharderthanpredictedinSeptember.Asaresult,marketsareexpectingtheFedtocutratesbyanotherquarterpointattheirnextmeetinginNovember.
cryptopolitan.com
Similarnews(1)
Addsimilarnews
FedPresidentSaysCrypto\'AlmostNever\'UsedOutsideofDrugDeals,IllegalActivities
decrypt.co
3h
Addsimilarnews
Sendusalinktoasimilarnewsstoryonanothersource.
Link
Whydoweneedit
Thecitationrateofanewsitemindicatesitsimportanceandsignificance.Thenumberofmentionsindifferentsourcesallowsyoutolookataneventfromdifferentangles.
Pleasehelpusimprovetheapplication.Ifwehavepublishednewsandyouhavefoundasimilaroneinanothersource,sendusalinktoit.
Send