Graylinghouse said cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy as no single approach or framework has dominated the field yet.
He strongly believes that the next 16 years will be the years of growth and real utility for cryptocurrencies.
Amos explained that Bitcoin is like digital gold, but better for today’s global economy.
At the recent Future Investment Initiative (FII) event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, some of the biggest names in the crypto industry came together to discuss where the industry is heading. The panel, moderated by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, included Jeremy Allaire, Saifedean Ammous, Ricardo B. Salinas Pliego, and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
During the discussion, Garlinghouse sounded confident about the future of digital assets. He said the next 16 years are likely to be even better than the past 16 as cryptocurrencies move beyond speculation and begin to find real, everyday uses in finance and technology.
Garlin House’s confidence in the future of cryptocurrencies
During the event, which took place from October 27th to 30th, 2025, Brad Garlinghouse and economist Saifedine Amos exchanged views on the future of cryptocurrencies. Amos argued that there is still no global consensus on how digital assets should evolve.
Garlinghouse agreed, saying that cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy as no single approach or framework has yet dominated the space. He emphasized that companies like Circle are starting to demonstrate real-world use cases, especially with stablecoins, and are showing progress toward commercialization.
He added that the next 16 years will be a test of growth and real-world utility as cryptocurrencies move from being primarily a store of value and speculation to powering meaningful everyday applications.
“I think the next 16 years are going to be better than the last 16 years because we’re finally going to see applications that used to just store value, stories or speculation,” Garlinghouse said.
Bitcoin is digital gold
Amos explained that Bitcoin is like digital gold, but cryptocurrencies are better for today’s global economy because they are easier to use for payments. Gold is physically unable to keep up, as the global economy relies on moving funds quickly across borders, and its centralization makes it politically sensitive.
“Most companies trade across borders, and they need money to move around. And you know, in the digital economy, the velocity of money is increasing, and so gold can’t keep up physically, because I think it’s too politically concentrated and too politically sensitive,” he said.
He also pointed out that Bitcoin is faster and more practical for moving funds directly around the world without the need for bank payments. This is why Bitcoin has significantly outperformed gold in value over the past 16 years, and Ammous expects this trend to continue.
