A Harvard economics researcher has published a new working paper recommending that central banks around the world start buying Bitcoin.
According to a report by Politico, Matthew Ferranti, a fifth-year PhD candidate in Harvard’s economics department has published a new working paper arguing that central banks should start buying up Bitcoin.
The paper, overseen by Ferranti’s Harvard advisor and former IMF economist Ken Rogoff, claims that central banks would benefit from holding a small amount of Bitcoin. The paper says that countries facing sanctions, or the potential for economic sanctions, should hold even more Bitcoin as a hedge substitute for gold.
Speaking in an interview with Politico, Ferranti stressed that countries could use crypto to circumnavigate sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other world powers.
However, he argued that gold was the best hedge alternative, saying:
[Gold is] so much less volatile. It’s like five times less volatile.
Ferranti told the Politico that countries would benefit from holding crypto in addition to gold due to the lack of correlation between the two assets and to increase in diversification. He also noted that countries at risk for sanctions tend to have poor infrastructure and are therefore less likely to be able to obtain enough gold to hedge their risk adequately.
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