St. Louis Fed Chief Pessimistic on Crypto as Non-Uniform Currency

St. Louis Fed Chief James Bullard reportedly views cryptocurrencies as part of a global currency competition that is ultimately unhealthy.

Bullard presented his views at the Central Bank Research Association 2019 annual meeting in a talk entitled "Public and Private Currency Competition."

In Bullard's slides, he noted that there is historical precedent for certain key features of cryptocurrency.

One of his bullet points reads: "Global currency competition is nothing new, nor is electronic delivery of value."

Bullard also noted that there is historical precedent within the U.S. indicating that localized non-uniform currency will not fly.

"Cryptocurrencies are creating drift toward a non-uniform currency in the U.S., a state of affairs that has existed historically but was disliked and eventually replaced."

Bullard cited the book "The Jacksonian Economy" by Peter Temin to say that 90% of American money in the 1830s was issued via private banknotes.

According to Bullard, contemporaries received this system unfavorably.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pressed Calibra wallet CEO David Marcus on whether currencies ought to be sovereign, corporations governing Libra, and Marcus' comment on potentially taking his paycheck fully in Libra.

"In the history of this country, there is a term for being paid in a corporate-controlled currency It's called 'scrip.' The idea that your pay could be controlled by a corporation instead of a sovereign government. Do you think that there is any risk here?".