BY DAYO ADESULU
Former United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo has disclosed that the U.S is working on its own digital currency project.
The development is apparently coming after the Chinese government on April 20, 2020, launched its digital currency, called Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP or “digital yuan”).
Pompeo, while speaking at the Richard Nixon Foundation seminar Pompeo predicted that many other countries will similarly create their own digital currencies in order to circumvent or evade U.S sanctions or penalties.
Already, before Pompeo’s prediction, countries like Ecuador, Senegal, Singapore, Tunisia, have issued their own national cryptocurrencies.
These countries will not however be standing alone for long as Estonia, Japan, Palestine, Russia and Sweden looking to launch their own national cryptocurrencies.
Pompeo who heaped the blame for operating digital currency on the doorstep of China added that the U.S would not launch its own in a hurry.
Meanwhile, the Co-founder of Paypal, Peter Thiel who spoke earlier at the Richard Nixon Foundation seminar, accused the Chinese government of plotting to overtake the United States by creating its national cryptocurrency and investing in bitcoin.
Peter Thiel, said the Chinese government, which detests the U.S. dollar’s reserve currency status, could be using bitcoin as a financial weapon against the U.S.
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According to him, the Asian continent would prefer Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as legal tenders because they see it as a tool that would continue to weaken the influence of the U.S dollar globally.
Thiel said China ideally prefers to have two reserve currencies that counter the dollar – the yuan and the digital currency, called DCEP.
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Thiel said: ” A self-professed bitcoin maximalist, bitcoin has now become the second reserve currency that China uses to fight the dollar’s influence.
He urged the United States to start asking necessary questions on how bitcoin works.
Recall that PayPal recently announced the inclusion of bitcoin into its severance means of transactions.
READ ALSO: China Dumps Dollar, Declares Bitcoin, Ethereum Legal Tenders
Bitcoin.com reports that the Paypal co-founder also shared his thoughts on China’s apparent lead in the race to roll out central bank-issued digital currencies.
READ ALSO: China To Giveaway 10m Yuan In National Cryptocurrency To Mark New Year Festival
He pointed out that if that should concern the United States, it should act fast.
