Let’s start with a question: what is the difference between a rival and an enemy?
Simple enough!
A rival is someone you compete against. And you could do this [ the act of competing] without necessarily liking or disliking your rival. In effect, you are rivals only because you are both in pursuit of the same thing.
An enemy is someone who wants to hurt you. Usually by bringing an overt threat to the table.
And so, when you look at the Trump-Powell spat in the context of this you get an idea that they cannot be rivals; and well (despite all the AI-generated images, flooding your newsfeed lately, of the two men engaging in various forms of bloodsport) they cannot be enemies either if they see eye-to-eye on some major policy moves that are in the works.
Read that again.
Trump and Powell are in agreement on some aspects on what may well be the most pivotal moment yet, in the evolution of money ─ the ascendancy of Stablecoins.
You see, well before the release of the seismic ‘Liberation Day (LD)’ Executive Order on April 2nd, Trump had on Jan 23rd, published a Presidential Action titled: ‘Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology’.
IMO, 3 points in particular stood out:
1. On money itself … ” protecting and promoting the ability of individual citizens and private-sector entities alike to access and use for lawful purposes open public blockchain networks without persecution … and to maintain self-custody of digital assets”
2. On Stablecoins… “promoting and protecting the sovereignty of the United States dollar, including through actions to promote the development and growth of lawful and legitimate dollar-backed stablecoins worldwide”
3. On CBDCs … “taking measures to protect Americans from the risks of CBDCs .. including by prohibiting the establishment, issuance, circulation, and use of a CBDC within .. the United States”
You see a glimmer of an outline taking shape now?
Let’s stay with this.
#1 indicates that ‘currency mints’ could be privately-owned under ‘certain conditions’.
#2 lends further credence as to how you and I could mint USD ‘coins’. We must meet certain ‘conditions’ though.
These conditions followed on Apr 4th (when the world was in the throes of ‘Headline Anxiety’ as Tariff-related news swamped news feeds) when the SEC released its clear-as-crystal ‘Statement on Stablecoins’.
You (and ‘You’ could be a OCC-approved Corp incorporated in the US) can issue a USD stablecoin as long as you can back it with reserves (say T-bills)
#3 On CBDC’s, Powell in a Feb 11th statement to the senate said, “the Fed will not develop its CBDC as long as he is in charge”.
Since currency has already been dematerialized from its traditional forms of coins and notes, you must view the recent events [around Stablecoin in particular, refer snapshot taken today from Tether’s website to gauge adoption trends], not as a good or bad sign, but as just another chapter in the evolution of money.
