Coindesk Logo

Ex-OCC Chief Brooks Calls Tesla's Bitcoin Buy a Bit 'Scary' for Rest of World

Ex-OCC Chief Brooks Calls Tesla's Bitcoin Buy a Bit 'Scary' for Rest of World

Ex-OCC Chief Brooks Calls Tesla's Bitcoin Buy a Bit 'Scary' for Rest of World

Brooks said the U.S. money supply will have risen 40% over the last 12 months once the most recent round of stimulus is done.

Brooks said the U.S. money supply will have risen 40% over the last 12 months once the most recent round of stimulus is done.

Brooks said the U.S. money supply will have risen 40% over the last 12 months once the most recent round of stimulus is done.

AccessTimeIconFeb 8, 2021, 3:29 PM
Updated Aug 19, 2021, 7:08 AM

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

The debasing of global currencies is why companies like Tesla (TSLA) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) are investing in bitcoin and that should be troubling for the rest of the world, former acting U.S. Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks said Monday on CoinDesk TV.

  • "For people who are invested in bitcoin it's exciting news," said Brooks, who left the OCC last month. "For people who are looking at the rest of the world it's actually a little bit [of] scary news."
  • Brooks was responding, in part, to Tesla's announcement Monday it has invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin and would be looking to acquire more digital assets. That news sent the price of bitcoin to a new all-time high.
  • The former acting comptroller noted the U.S. money supply has risen 25% since the start of the pandemic and will be up 40% compared with a year ago once the most recent round of stimulus is done in the next few days.
  • "That's crazy, right?" Brooks asked. "The way inflation works is the more of asset you have the less valuable it is. That would explain why a lot of institutions want to have bitcoin sitting in their treasury because it's a lot more stable source of value over the long haul, potentially.'
  • Brooks declined to say what his next career move will be, only he hopes to be in the space for a long time to come.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.