Private digital currencies like bitcoin will become a meaningful store of value, similar to gold, Piyush Gupta, chief executive of Singapore’s largest bank DBS, said on Wednesday.
Cryptocurrencies are unlikely to replace state-backed fiat currencies, Piyush Gupta noted in the bank’s annual report.
The CEO said in the report that regulators and politicians are unwilling to give up control over monetary policy and economic management tools, so they will maintain a very cautious attitude towards the development of private digital currencies.
“Nevertheless, I still think that cryptocurrencies will continue to be a meaningful store of value, just like gold is now.”
At the same time, Piyush Gupta also pointed out that digital currencies dominated by major central banks around the world will become more common, and it is necessary to pay close attention. 85% of the world’s central banks are either working on digital currencies or are already piloting them, he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden will sign an executive order this week directing the Justice Department, Treasury Department and other agencies to study the legal and economic implications of creating a U.S. central bank digital currency, according to people familiar with the matter.
In addition, China’s digital yuan is also developing rapidly. “Securities Times” recently reported that during the Beijing Winter Olympics, digital renminbi became a highlight of the Winter Olympics financial services. The Winter Olympics scenario pilot has achieved full coverage of seven scenarios, and carried out 3 large-scale digital renminbi pilot activities. There are 403,000 scenes, and the transaction amount is 9.6 billion yuan.