Crypto Could be an Alternative to Gold, Says DBS Bank CEO

Piyush Gupta – CEO of Singapore’s largest financial institution DBS Bank – believes cryptocurrencies could turn into an alternative to gold and its role in the current financial system. However, he doesn’t think digital assets could become “money as we know it.”

Bitcoin on the Same Level as Gold

DBS Bank’s top executive aired his thoughts on several popular cryptocurrency topics during a recent interview for The Economic Times. Similar to many proponents of the asset class, Gupta envisioned that bitcoin could become an alternative to gold and its valuation.

However, he pointed out the current volatility of the crypto market, which will not enable the digital asset to become “money as we know it:”

“The other big challenge is volatility in value. If you want to use this to pay for something, you don’t know what it’s costing you. Today cryptos are a potential source of speculated value, it’s unlikely that this is a source of money as we know it.”

Additionally, Gupta called upon global regulation of the industry as global central banks should be responsible for designing the regulatory framework.

The Singaporean touched upon central bank digital currencies, too, envisioning that their implementation could lead to “disintermediation” in the banking system. He predicted that the actual launch of such a monetary product is just a matter of time as it will bring “far greater use cases.”

Subsequently, Gupta outlined the merits of crypto’s backbone – blockchain technology. He believes it has “the power to change the notion of a hub:”

“It can change how trade finance is processed, it can change how payments and settlements clearances work, it can change how exchanges work.”

Bitstamp USA CEO Sees Bitcoin Trading Like Gold

Earlier this week, Bobby Zagotta – Chief Executive Officer of Bitstamp USA – displayed his thoughts on the correlation between the primary cryptocurrency and the precious metal. He predicted that investors could soon treat both assets similarly, assuming the world of crypto becomes a “more of a mainstream investment.”

Currently, though, uncertainty reigns in all financial markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the military conflict in Ukraine. As such, individuals and companies prefer to deal with less volatile tokens such as stablecoins, Zagotta claimed.

Other prominent figures went even further over the last several months, forecasting that bitcoin could replace gold’s dominance. These include the likes of the Sri Lankan billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya and the hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones.

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