Kenneth Rogoff, professor of economics and public policy at Harvard University, says central banks are “far behind” in regulating cryptocurrencies.
The former International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist said: interview with Bloomberg Surveillance on Monday.
Rogoff wondered why the US central bank – the Federal Reserve – was pursuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). He claims that whatever the government wants to achieve with the digital currency, it can “achieve” these same things by modifying the current monetary system.
A crypto skeptic, including CBDCs, tells the economist that a successful retail rollout by the central bank would result in “massive disintermediation” that the government “probably isn’t ready to tackle”.
For him, the motivation for some of the “smaller central banksIn wanting a CBDC, the hope is that they can eat into some of the trades currently seen on crypto platforms.
Crypto ‘Don’t Want To Be Regulated’
In a comment reflecting the common misunderstanding of cryptocurrencies, Rogoff notes that the “general idea” of digital currencies revolves around making it difficult for someone to be tracked. He added:
“I think central banks, and governments in general, are lagging far behind in regulating cryptocurrencies. They’re throwing away the idea of having CBDCs to distract the conversation.”
Despite the numerous calls from the crypto industry for regulatory clarity, and government recognition of the same, Rogoff believes the crypto industry is pulling back from regulation.
Comparing today’s crypto industry to the financial technology pioneers of the 1990s and early 2000s, the Harvard professor says the mantra of “catch me if you can, regulate me if you can” is wrong. is. He also says that crypto is lobbying and pushing back against regulation by throwing money – the Super Bowl ads are an example.
