Mary Daly, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, stated that cryptocurrencies should be considered a separate asset class:

“I think cryptocurrency is a complex thing, and the service we should provide to everyone is to really figure out what we mean and call a spade a spade once we do,” Daly said.

“It could be a currency. It can be a medium of exchange. … It could be a stock—an asset that retains value or sometimes loses value. We just have to define these terms."

“So I don’t see it as gold,” Daly added. “Sometimes it has the properties of gold, but I don’t perceive it as gold.”

Bitcoin and other crypto assets do not yet meet the currency requirements. They do not compete with the dollar, but rather with gold. The dollar is stable due to the economic situation, while the price of BTC depends on demand.