Federal Reserve's Daly: Cryptocurrencies should be seen as independent assets, not be confused with gold.

San Francisco Fed President Daley said that cryptocurrencies should be considered as a separate asset class, rather than being lumped together with gold as is often seen. Daley said, "It can be a currency. It could be a medium of exchange... It can be a stock - an asset that retains or sometimes loses value. We just need to define these terms." "So I don't think it's gold," Daley added. "It sometimes has properties like gold, but I don't think so." Daley's assessment differs slightly from Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, whose comments on Bitcoin earlier this month sparked the cryptocurrency community. Powell said, "People treat Bitcoin as a speculative asset. It's like gold, only it's virtual, it's digital. People don't use it as a means of payment or a store of value. It's very volatile. It's not a competitor to the dollar; it's a real competitor to gold." Daley agrees with Powell's view that cryptocurrencies are not yet ready to be considered currency, as some crypto bulls have argued at this point in their lifecycle. Daley explained, "What it needs is that it must grow as the economy grows." "So its value won't change because people want it. So when more people want a dollar bill, the dollar bill won't appreciate. What causes fluctuations in the dollar is the economy and our growth relative to other countries. So to be a currency, it must perfect this property." While cryptocurrencies seem far from being approved as currency by Congress, this hasn't stopped the momentum of bullish trading in various digital assets. The most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has continued to perform well since Trump's election on November 5th and broke the $100,000 mark for the first time on December 4th. Since Election Day, the price of Bitcoin has risen by 38%, and it has risen by 106% so far this year. So far this year, cryptocurrency-related stocks like Coinbase (COIN.US) and Robinhood (HOOD.US) have surged by 45% and 204% respectively. The resurgence in the cryptocurrency market is also reflected in recent investments by some entities that usually prefer traditional stocks and bond options. In May of this year, the retirement fund of Wisconsin purchased $160 million worth of shares in two new funds approved by regulators earlier this year, adding Bitcoin to its holdings. MicroStrategy (MSTR.US) has also continued to buy large amounts of Bitcoin in recent weeks. The new administration has appointed venture capitalist David Sacks as the cryptocurrency czar, responsible for overseeing issues and initiatives related to cryptocurrencies. One of these initiatives may be to create a Bitcoin reserve, which is a proposal supported by Trump supporters. Benchmark Company analyst Mark Palmer said, "In fact, there will be a focus on making the United States a leader in cryptocurrency, Bitcoin mining, and other areas mentioned by President Trump, which is a huge change in itself." "We assume in our analysis that by the end of 2026, the price of Bitcoin will reach $225,000." Palmer added, "We see more and more institutions adopting Bitcoin, which is crucial."