Andrew Bailey, governor of the BoE, has rejected Bitcoin as a means of payment while recognizing the potential of stablecoins.
During a conference held at the Brookings Institute, Bailey stressed out digital assets "are unsuited to the world of payments."
In his speech, he shared his opinion on Bitcoin, stating that the crypto is an asset that has "no connection at all to money." In addition, he has gone further by saying cryptos are not a good asset to invest in because "their value can fluctuate quite, widely, unsurprisingly."
However, his opinion in relation to stablecoins is very different. In relation to them, he has said they can provide some "useful benefits." However, he has noted the following:
"If stablecoins are to be widely used as a means of payment, they must have equivalent standards to those that are in place today for other forms of payment types and the forms of money transferred through them."
Bailey has even mentioned there is a chance both stablecoins and CBDCs will coexist in the future and complement each other from a user experience perspective:
"Stablecoins and CBDC are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Depending on design choices, they could sit alongside each other, either as distinct payment options, or with elements of the stablecoin ecosystem, such as wallets, providing consumers with access to a CBDC. So there will likely be a role for the private and public sector working together in the future of payments."
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