The CEO of digital asset titan Grayscale Investments says that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) can propel Bitcoin (BTC) into further adoption and growth.
In a new interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Michael Sonnenshein says that a federal-backed digital dollar could serve as a tailwind for investors and businesses to look into crypto.
He references payments giant PayPal, which now supports the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies.
“The emergence of a digital dollar or a federal-backed digital asset, we actually believe, creates a tailwind for investors to think about decentralized applications so companies like PayPal and others are already including decentralized protocols like Bitcoin and others in their business model. Shedding light on the use of digital assets, we think, is an enablement factor that does give investors more comfort.”
Sonnenshein says he disagrees with the idea that a CBDC could drive companies like Paypal out of business and displace crypto assets.
“Not crowding out, but instead actually shedding light on the usage of this technology. It would almost be an enablement factor here to look at the underpinnings of blockchain technology and also shedding light on the difference between federal or fiat-backed assets as well as decentralized assets like Bitcoin.
We have to remember that a lot of the ethos of this ecosystem is about creating a more inclusive, more equitable financial system and so the more that we see adoption around us, the more that those ideas pervade investors and users.”
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