Fed’s Kashkari calls crypto “utterly useless”

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said crypto is “utterly useless” compared with artificial intelligence, dismissing stablecoins as lacking practical advantages over existing payment systems.

Speaking at the 2026 Midwest Economic Outlook summit, Kashkari said crypto has been around for more than a decade without delivering meaningful economic value, contrasting it with AI, which he said is already demonstrating real-world use and long-term potential.

“AI has not been around very long, and people are using it every day,”

Said Minneapolis Fed President, Neel Kashkari, adding:

“This is demonstrating to me that this thing is real and it has real long-term potential for the US economy as opposed to crypto.”

Kashkari also criticised stablecoin use cases, calling industry explanations “a buzzword salad” and questioning what stablecoins can offer that services such as Venmo, PayPal or Zelle cannot already provide.

He challenged claims that stablecoins are superior for remittances, arguing that recipients still face conversion costs into local currencies, using the example of his father-in-law in the Philippines.

Kashkari added that countries are unlikely to abandon their own monetary policy in favour of stablecoin-based systems, saying policymakers and consumers should “ask the most basic questions and don't settle for word salad nonsense answers.”