Opinion: Today Bitcoin is a lottery ticket

Former chief economist of the IMF and current professor of economics and public law at Harvard University, Kenneth Rogoff, believes that at the moment, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are the same as “lottery tickets.” In an article published in The Guardian on Monday, he wrote that despite popular belief that cryptocurrencies will finally fall, it is impossible to say with certainty that their value will continue to fall.

In his opinion, mature economies are unlikely to use cryptocurrencies, which means that most of them will be adopted in countries like Iran, Somalia, Venezuela and North Korea. Given this, it is difficult to predict the future fate of the new asset class.

Discussing the future of Bitcoin, Rogoff said:

Regulators are starting to wake up to the fact that they cannot tolerate expensive transaction technology that helps criminals evade taxes and engage in other illegal activities. At the same time, central banks in many countries are beginning to realize that they can also issue digital currencies...

According to Rogoff, this could lead to the fact that in the long term the value of Bitcoin could be between $100 and $100,000. Many factors contribute to this, some of which are difficult to imagine at the moment. He also explained why the popular belief in Bitcoin as a store of value will not help it maintain its value.

Economists (myself included) who have been studying this problem for five decades have found that price bubbles around patently worthless assets will eventually burst.

Ultimately, he pointed out that it will be the actions of governments that will determine whether Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can achieve general acceptance, or whether they will remain a means of payment in the world. websites selling illegal services, and in countries with destroyed economies.

Today, it is the world's regulators who decide the future of any asset. 

According to www.ccn.com