Senior Federal Reserve Official Who Blasted Bitcoin Now Says He’ll Have an Open Mind

• Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari has been one of the loudest opponents of crypto for years but after a lengthy conversation with CoinDesk, he said he’ll keep an open mind.

• Nevertheless, the former banker struggles to see crypto’s real-life use cases, especially given how the industry has been pushing for mainstream adoption — without success in his opinion.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari has long been a loud critic of bitcoin (BTC) and the rest of cryptocurrencies, calling them “worthless,” “fraudulent” and “nonsense.”

But now, he says his view could be swayed.

“I will have an open mind,” Kashkari told CoinDesk during a brief conversation in New York City on Tuesday.

Despite that pledge, the Ohio-born-and-raised banker continued to question the point of cryptocurrencies during the conversation. The industry has been around a long time without reaching widespread adoption, showing a lack of utility, he said.

“Other than as a speculative asset, what does it actually do in the real economy?” Kashkari said. “It’s been a dozen years.” (The Bitcoin white paper that sparked the crypto revolution came out 16 years ago.)

Crypto has struggled to gain a foothold in the U.S. (besides serving as an asset in investment portfolios). The federal government’s stiff resistance has made it hard to connect crypto to the conventional financial system, which is partly overseen by the Fed.

That might be poised to change. Last week, Donald Trump won the presidential election, promising to support the crypto industry in the U.S. and fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who is widely viewed by crypto insiders as an impediment.

Some in Trump’s circle, including crypto-fan Elon Musk, reportedly want him to dramatically weaken Kashkari’s employer, the Fed. Trump tried to fire current Fed Chair Jerome Powell in 2018, causing stocks to tank. Asked whether he would resign under Trump’s new administration, which begins in January, Powell said “no” last week.