The former chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures bank deposits in the U.S., says that cryptocurrencies shouldn't be outlawed.
According to a new interview published by Barron's, Sheila Bair suggested that while bitcoin and other cryptos lack an "intrinsic value," so do currencies such as the U.S. dollar.
"I don't think we should ban it - the green bills in your pocket don't have an intrinsic value, either," she was quoted as saying.
The comments from Bair - who led the government corporation between 2006 and 2011 - are notable, given the growing scrutiny being applied to the market from a range of regulators worldwide. Bair, who has opined about cryptocurrency regulation in the past, is also a member of blockchain startup Paxos' board of directors.
Indeed, she suggested that as far as the price of cryptocurrencies is concerned, the market itself is best equipped to ascertain some kind of value.
"Let the market figure out what it's worth," she told the publication. "That is what it is doing now."
https://www.coindesk.com/former-fdic-head-let-the-market-figure-out-bitcoins-value/