Bitcoin News
By Steven Anderson
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Neel Kashkari is not holding back. The head of the Minneapolis Fed fiercely criticized cryptocurrencies yesterday during a speech in Fargo, North Dakota.
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"Cryptos have been around for over a decade and are completely useless," he declared to the audience at the Midwest Economic Outlook Summit of 2026.
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Stablecoin advocates argue for faster and cheaper cross-border transfers. Kashkari isn't buying it.
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Kashkari also takes a jab at Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, who had criticized a New York Fed study on tariffs.
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"Another attempt to undermine the Fed's independence," the Minneapolis president asserts. He refers to several recent incidents, including a Justice Department subpoena in…
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On the economy, the news is rather good. Inflation has dropped to between 2.5% and 3%, while unemployment has risen from about 3.5% to 4.3%.
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Last November, Kashkari had already launched a strong attack by comparing the sector to the Beanie Babies bubble of the 1990s.
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Kashkari did not provide any outlook on future interventions.
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In January 2026, he delivered the same message at a conference in Chicago: the cryptocurrency market was a "giant casino.
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On the sidelines of the Fargo summit, several participants expressed similar concerns. John Williams, president of the New York Fed, echoed Kashkari's comments.
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Kashkari mentioned that the Fed continues to monitor the evolution of the cryptocurrency sector.
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The crypto industry is not staying silent in the face of these repeated attacks. Coinbase and Ripple have produced numerous reports showing growing adoption of stablecoins for…
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Other Fed officials take a more nuanced approach. Michelle Bowman, a member of the board of governors, acknowledged last October the potential of digital assets for financial…
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