While Dogecoin undoubtedly captured the hearts and minds of investors earlier this year, it may not be as popular as people think it is, according to a Reserve Bank of Australia official, The Canberra Times reports.
Tony Richards, head of payments at the RBA, has questioned the veracity of polls that display high rates of cryptocurrency adoption.
He particularly mentioned one recent survey, which shows that 5% of all Australians own meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
Richards explains that such online polls likely exclude older people and areas with poor internet connectivity.
The RBA official pointed to the fact that the market cap of the meme cryptocurrency reached a staggering $88 billion earlier this year, which he believes illustrates the state of the market.
Alex DovbnyaNo threat to the Aussie dollar
Despite the rapid proliferation of cryptocurrencies, Richards does not think that they pose a threat to the Australian dollar since he does not believe that it will reach widespread adoption as a means of payment:
I can't see shops posting their prices in cryptocurrencies or companies doing their annual reports in cryptocurrencies or lots of people wanting to get paid in cryptocurrencies.
He believes that investors may also become more vigilant about the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, such as regulatory uncertainty, their environmental impact and criminal use cases.
Despite being a crypto skeptic, Richards created a crypto wallet all the way back in 2014 since learning about new payment instruments as part of his job.
Godfrey Benjamin
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin