[2015-11-19] Ben Bernanke on bubbles, bitcoin ....

[LiteCoinGuy]

Ben Bernanke on bubbles, bitcoin, and why he’s not a Republican anymore

What do you think about bitcoin?

It’s interesting from a technological point of view. We’re in a world where the payments system is evolving quickly and new approaches to managing payments are proliferating, and some of the ideas around bitcoin will no doubt be useful in doing that.

But I think bitcoin itself has some serious problems. The first is that it hasn’t shown to be a stable source of value. Its price has been highly volatile and it hasn’t yet established itself as a widely accepted transactions medium.

But the real serious problem that it has is it’s anonymity, which is a feature, and is also a bug, in that it has become in some cases a vehicle for illicit transactions, drug selling or terrorist financing or whatever. And you know, governments are not happy to let that activity happen, so I suspect that there will be oversight of transactions done in bitcoin or similar currencies and that will reduce the appeal.

http://qz.com/553407/ben-bernanke-on-bubbles-bitcoin-and-why-hes-not-a-republican-anymore/

[MbccompanyX]

But I think bitcoin itself has some serious problems. The first is that it hasn’t shown to be a stable source of value. Its price has been highly volatile and it hasn’t yet established itself as a widely accepted transactions medium.

I see a little contradiction right there, because how could be done the value of a coin in the past (Talking about even about romans)? It wasn't stable and that breaks apart that statement... Seriously, somebody can remind me what is so special about this Ben Bernanke?

But the real serious problem that it has is it’s anonymity, which is a feature, and is also a bug, in that it has become in some cases a vehicle for illicit transactions, drug selling or terrorist financing or whatever. And you know, governments are not happy to let that activity happen, so I suspect that there will be oversight of transactions done in bitcoin or similar currencies and that will reduce the appeal.

So if i want to do a simple payment for example because i want to buy something to eat the goverment needs to know it? I don't get the sense of that part.... If somebody could be so kind to explain me that statement i would like appreciate

[LiteCoinGuy]

Since price is a function of supply and demand, his criticism has absolutely nothing to do with the currency itself. And since the supply of Bitcoin is extremely predictable, his criticism pertains more to the fluctuations in demand. The price fluctuates because demand fluctuates.

Also, whether it has established itself as a widely accepted medium of exchange is also a function of demand among the populace. Has it reached saturation point yet? No. But that doesn't disqualify it from ever doing so. The only relevant observation to make at this point is that demand for it at this point far exceeds demand for it just six years ago.

Any beginner economist knows these things, of course. Bernanke knows them, too, assuming he is remotely familiar with economics. Thus, his criticisms sound more like political posturing than intellectual observations.

http://www.coindesk.com/ben-bernanke-bitcoin-serious-problems/