Fed Governor Chris Waller Endorses Crypto Innovation, Highlights Tokenization Potential

Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller dismissed fears surrounding digital assets during a keynote at the SALT conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "There is nothing to be afraid of when thinking about smart contracts, tokenization or distributed ledgers," said Waller, a TRUMP appointee considered a frontrunner for next Fed chair. His remarks follow similar pro-crypto sentiments from Vice Chair Michelle Bowman earlier this week.

The central banker drew parallels between current blockchain innovations and historical financial infrastructure upgrades. "Leveraging innovative technology to build new payment services is not a new story," he noted, criticizing the vilification of technologies merely because they're associated with crypto assets. The Fed is actively researching tokenization applications, though Waller cautioned this doesn't guarantee adoption.