Brian Armstrong, CEO of U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase, stated that Bitcoin could play a role in extending Western civilization. For Armstrong, Bitcoin represents an alternative to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, which people can use as an alternative to inflation.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong: Crypto Might Be ‘an Antidote to Inflation.’
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, has recently reflected on the role that bitcoin might have in the future of Western civilization. In a post on X, Armstrong explained that “One idea I’ve been contemplating is that Bitcoin may be the key to extending western civilization” and that fiat currencies will keep inflating until they lose their advantages as currencies. He believes the U.S. dollar is already on this road but that there are no other alternatives as other fiat currencies face the same problems.
He stated:
The Yuan and Euro have their own issues and aren’t viable alternatives currently, so the assumption is the U.S. can continue to inflate.
Armstrong states crypto might be an alternative to these currencies, even when most people are still not considering it. He thinks people may move fiat into crypto as an “antidote to inflation.”
Nonetheless, unlike others, Armstrong does not believe that Bitcoin will kill the U.S. dollar. Instead, he envisions that crypto will become a “natural check and balance” for the American currency as one of the defenses of the American people and Western civilization’s interests in the long term.
Armstrong stressed:
It’s better to move from dollars to crypto than to another country or region’s fiat. I also think both fiat and crypto will co-exist for a long time. They are more complements than substitutes.
Citizens of some embattled countries in Latam, such as Venezuela and Argentina, are already using cryptocurrencies to battle inflation and devaluation due to the woes their economies face derived from their fiat currencies’ weaknesses. These unique use cases were highlighted in Chainalysis’ 2023 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report, stressing the significance of dollar-pegged stablecoins in this context.
What do you think about Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s takes on the future role of bitcoin and crypto? Tell us in the comments section below.
