Former Coinbase CTO: Tariffs May Harm the U.S. Economy, but Benefit Cryptocurrency

ChainCatcher message, former Coinbase CTO Balaji tweeted that tariffs may be detrimental to the U.S. economy, but beneficial for cryptocurrency. He explained:

Why are tariffs detrimental to the U.S. economy? Production cannot be increased in a short time, but prices can rise quickly. Rather than rebuilding production, the U.S. relies more on the gains from currency issuance than on manufacturing profits.

Why are tariffs beneficial for cryptocurrency? Global capital will shift to on-chain, even as nationalism and socialism are rising offline. The only truly enforceable cross-border contracts in the future will be smart contracts. While a nation's economic commitments may be unreliable, the mathematical guarantees of cryptography are trustworthy.