- Bill Harris, the former CEO of Paypal sees Bitcoin as a “scam” and investing in Bitcoin as “gambling.”
- He points out that the “volatile” nature of cryptocurrencies will not allow it to ever become an effective means of payment or a great store value.
- Besides Bill Harris, other personalities have also voiced their negative opinions on digital currencies which includes the likes of the prominent New York University economist, Nouriel Roubini.
Bill Harris, known as the founder and CEO of Paypal Holdings Inc has recently lashed out at cryptocurrencies, particular Bitcoins, calling it a “Scam.” According to him, digital currencies, due to its “volatile” nature will never become an effective means of payment and simultaneous never serve as a great store value.
Harris, who later also served as the CEO of Intuit and co-founded Personal Capital Corporation was just come out and stated, “Bitcoin is more of a gamble than an investment, and the investors are drinking the Kool-Aid.”
With that being said, Harris is also showing support towards blockchains which is the underlying technology behind all cryptocurrencies. He points out that his main issue with bitcoin is that its usefulness doesn’t coincide with the currency’s value.
Back in 2017, BTC prices spiked by over 1300% and reached a whopping $20000 value during December. However, just at the start of 2018 it also suffered a massive downfall, and its prices reached to a low of $6000. This “volatility” is an unfavorable quality which will prevent it from becoming integrated into managing the day to day transactions.
Now, Bill Harris isn’t the only one who has voiced distrust towards digital currencies. Other examples include the likes of Nouriel Roubini, the prominent New York University economist who calls Bitcoin as “the biggest bubble in human history.”
On the flip side, bitcoin supporters and enthusiasts are providing a counter-argument that it is due to “Scarcity” that the values of the cryptocurrency are increasing. In total, there can be a maximum of 21 million bitcoins in the market, and according to some sources, the 17 millionth bitcoin will be mined soon.
However, Bill Harris fights against this argument as well, concluding:
“My autograph is scarce; I promise that I will never autograph a piece of paper more than 21 million times. But it does not make it valuable. […] There’s the currency like bitcoin then there’s the technology. Blockchain technology has terrific applications, including financial transactions but we don’t need a new currency to do it.”