South Africa Central Bank Chief Questions Lobbyists’ Focus on Bitcoin

The governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Lesetja Kganyago, has slammed crypto lobbyists calling on countries to adopt or add Bitcoin to their respective reserves.

South Africa's central bank chief has criticized crypto lobbyists at the World Economic Forum in Davos for pushing countries to add Bitcoin to their reserves.

Lesetja Kganyago, governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), slammed the lobbyists during a panel discussion for focusing solely on having Bitcoin added to reserves and not other assets.

“I would have a significant problem with a lobby that says governments should hold this asset or hold that asset. There is a history to gold. There was once a gold standard… If we now say ok, bitcoins. What about platinum? What about coal? Why don’t we hold strategic beef reserves, or mutton reserves, or apple reserves? Why Bitcoin,” Kganyago asked, according to a report by Reuters.

The comments came after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told the panel that Donald Trump's return to the White House would draw investors to crypto and highlighted the importance of having the leader of the world's largest economy endorse Bitcoin.

Armstrong's remarks were in reference to reports that the former U.S. president planned to create a government Bitcoin stockpile if he were reelected in 2024.

Kganyago also warned that the crypto industry's heavy lobbying efforts could lead to “regulatory capture,” a phrase that carries particular resonance in South Africa and refers to a situation where regulatory agencies are unduly influenced or controlled by the industries they are meant to oversee.

During the last U.S. elections, several crypto firms and executives openly endorsed and donated millions of dollars to candidates who were seen as being sympathetic to the crypto cause. Many of these candidates went on to win, resulting in what has been described as the most pro-crypto U.S. Congress.

However, Kganyago suggested that such an outcome could mean that “regulation is going to be established through the power of money.”

Armstrong, on the other hand, maintained that crypto firms influencing U.S. elections is a sign of democracy at work.