The pioneering virtual currency bitcoin could have trouble sticking around for the long haul given its lack of intrinsic value and practical applications other than as a means of payment, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller.
Despite his less-than-enthusiastic prediction, he recognizes the fast-growing cryptocurrency market and calls for government intervention to protect investors. Shiller spoke to The Nikkei at the World Economic Forum in January and answered additional questions by email.
The economics professor at Yale University views the blockchain technology that underpins virtual currencies as an important innovation. The technology has given rise to such services as cheap and fast money transfers.
The problem, Shiller said, is with bitcoin itself. "Gold has maintained value for thousands of years" because it is "inherently and uniquely scarce and beautiful and useful for certain purposes," he explained. But "bitcoin is none of these," making its value very difficult to determine, Shiller said. "While Bitcoin production is limited to 21 million coins, there is nothing to stop new cryptocurrencies" from emerging, he noted.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Bitcoin-evolution/Bitcoin-unlikely-to-last-100-years-says-Nobel-winning-economist