FX.co ★ Bitcoin threatens dollar hegemony, not shared BRICS currency

Is the dominance of the US dollar under threat again? Jeremy Siegel, a professor at the Wharton School of Business, argues that the true challenge to the greenback comes not from BRICS countries but from Bitcoin, which he sees as the biggest threat to the dollar's global supremacy.

Recently, Siegel commented on US President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to impose a 100% tariff on goods produced by BRICS countries if they sought to abandon the US dollar. The professor expressed skepticism about such a move and questioned its effectiveness. "I think the biggest threat to the dollar being used as a reserve currency is Bitcoin, which we all hear Trump is a big supporter of," Siegel said. He finds it rather odd that BRICS nations are being pressured to abandon the idea of creating an alternative reserve currency, while many countries are already predicting this role for Bitcoin.

According to analysts, several nations currently hold and actively use digital assets. For instance, El Salvador has purchased 6,175 BTC worth $547.3 million at the current rate, and the US government holds approximately 207,000 BTC valued at $19.9 billion.

In the near future, the first cryptocurrency could rival the US dollar as the world's reserve currency if governments begin to invest budget funds in digital assets on a large scale. Such plans are being discussed in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Poland, and Russia. In particular, Russian authorities have proposed creating a reserve fund for cryptocurrencies mined within the country, including Bitcoin. However, Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma's Financial Market Committee, opposed the initiative, suggesting that BTC could be designated as a reserve asset only in the very distant future, in about 100 years.