Federal Reserve official Neel Kashkari says Bitcoin remains worthless after 12 years

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Tushar Kashkari weighed in on Bitcoin, explaining that the asset has remained worthless after twelve years. Kashkari also stated that the U.S. labor market has strengthened, and inflation numbers are declining.

The Minneapolis Fed stated that the Fed would continue to make data-driven decisions and highlighted that pushing joblessness higher to curb inflation was not worth it. He mentioned that a reduced labor demand could translate to surging unemployment in the country. 

The Fed also believes that China does not pose any economic threat to the United States and that the Chinese yuan cannot outshine the U.S. dollar to become the world’s reserve currency. 

The Minneapolis Fed president terms Bitcoin as a worthless asset

Economist and politician Kashkari emphasized that despite the longevity of digital assets, crypto has not been able to establish itself as a viable currency. On the other hand, he endorsed generative artificial intelligence and believes that the technology has potential after being around for two years.

Despite Kashkari’s statements, Bitcoin has performed exceptionally well over the years. The asset rose 9% in 2012, 59% in 2016, and 171% in 2020. This year, Bitcoin has outperformed major asset classes so far. Bitcoin volatility has increased as the U.S. gears up for what a Jefferies investment firm report dubbed the Bitcoin elections. The asset is up 10% in the last month and has rallied 45% this year. 

However, Q3 has been difficult for Bitcoin. According to CoinGecko data, Bitcoin’s price remained largely unchanged and was up only 0.8%. Other major asset classes outperformed Bitcoin. Gold led the pack with 13.8% due to fears of an economic slowdown in the United States. 

The demand for U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs has also increased. The funds experienced cumulative inflows worth $253.54 million on October 11th and an additional $555.86 million on October 14th, according to ETF tracker Sosovalue . 

The Japanese yen followed closely behind after rallying 12% when the Bank of Japan hiked interest rates in August. The report mentioned that crypto closed the quarter with a $2.3 trillion market capitalization, contrasting Kashkari’s statement.

Forthcoming U.S. elections could impact Bitcoin’s price

The Jefferies report highlighted that the elections are a big win for crypto regardless of whether former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump or Vice President and Democrat candidate Kamala Harris wins. 

Both candidates have promised to create a more crypto-friendly environment for digital assets to thrive. However, Donald Trump has been more vocal about the industry. He spoke at the Bitcoin Conference 2024 held in Nashville, Tennessee, promising that the U.S. will become the global crypto hub when he assumes office. 

Notably, data from CryptoQuant suggests that Bitcoin reserves on all centralized exchanges are at an all-time low. The declining reserves indicate that crypto investors are more optimistic about the asset and prefer using non-custodial solutions to hold their Bitcoin. 

When Bitcoin reserves increase in these exchanges, the price tends to react in the opposite trend since it illustrates rising selling pressure. Bitcoin is up 2.14% in the last 24 hours and up 4.48% in the last seven days. The asset is retailing at $65,559 at the time of this writing.