Hillary Clinton – former first-lady and US Secretary of State – recently called for the Biden administration to regulate the crypto markets. She said the technology could be “manipulated” by Russia and China, and even “destabilize” the dollar’s status as the world reserve currency.
Crypto Versus America
Clinton re-affirmed her anti-cryptocurrency stance in conversation with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Wednesday. Her comments were part of a larger conversation on regulating tech companies to protect them from foreign influence.
After discussing Google and Apple’s recent compliance with Russian authorities, Clinton pivoted to the issue “on the horizon”, being the crypto market. She showed concern over “even larger sums of money” being amassed by Russia or China through the “control” of certain cryptocurrency chains.
However, she thinks crypto presents a threat that goes beyond nation-states:
“We’re looking at not only states such as China or Russia manipulating technology of all kinds to their advantage. We’re looking at non-state actors – either in concert with states or on their own – destabilizing countries, [and] the dollar as the reserve currency.”
Hillary Clinton. Source: NBC News
Hillary Clinton famously ran against Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election. Despite being pitted as polar opposites, the two happen to agree on this issue. Trump has repeatedly denounced Bitcoin as a “scam” and claimed that it “takes an edge” off the dollar’s global status.
What Do China and Russia Really Think?
Despite Clinton’s theory, China has shown no outward support for any cryptocurrencies besides its digital yuan. The government outright banned all miners from its borders in May, causing it to lose influence over Bitcoin’s hash rate that it formerly dominated.
However, Russia does seem to have adopted a more favorable stance. Last month, the nation’s deputy finance minister stated that they have no intention to follow in China’s hostile footsteps.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has outright recognized crypto as a legitimate means of payment. Particularly, he sees it as a potential future alternative to dollars for purchasing oil. As Clinton suspects, this would indeed weaken the dollar’s strength.
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