Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari sharply criticized cryptocurrencies, calling them 'utterly useless' and likening the crypto market to the Beanie Babies bubble. He argued that stablecoins do not offer practical advantages over existing payment platforms such as Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle. Kashkari also defended the Fed’s independence amid political pressures and spoke on current economic conditions including inflation and unemployment.