By Elizabeth Howcroft and Iain Withers
Surrounded by crypto executives buoyed by Donald Trump’s presidency, South Africa’s central bank chief on Tuesday criticized industry lobbying of U.S. policymakers, telling a Davos panel event that bitcoin made no more sense as a reserve asset than beef or apples.
Other panellists welcomed Trump’s presidency as promising big opportunities for the sector, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong saying Trump’s new term will draw a lot of investment into crypto.
Bitcoin hit all-time highs above $100,000 following Trump’s election, he said.
“The Trump effect cannot be denied here. To have the leader of the largest GDP country in the world come out undeniably and say that he wants to be the first crypto president… This is unprecedented,” Armstrong said during a panel at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos.
Armstrong also welcomed Trump’s plan to create a U.S. government bitcoin stockpile, but
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