Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has, in a public event at the London School of Economics, stated that bitcoin has been “effectively” shut down by the U.S. government. Joseph Stiglitz is, by any account, a renowned economist, an influential figure and scholar in world economics. The 73-year-old American is notably a recipient of the Nobel prize in Economic Sciences in 2001 and is currently a professor at Columbia University, New York. Stiglitz has received over 40 honorary degrees from the likes of Harvard and Cambridge Universities while being decorated by several governments such as South Korea, Colombia, Ecuador and more. He was also the chief economist at the World Bank for three years between 1997 and 2000. The list of accolades above still does not do him justice, his Wiki article sums up an exhaustive survey of his credentials. The Bitcoin Question At a recent public event at London School of Economics while promoting his latest book, Stiglitz issued a public lecture before fielding questions from the audience. It was here that Stiglitz was asked to offer his views on bitcoin. The question is notable in itself. A member of the audience asked Stiglitz: Hi. My question is what is your opinion of bitcoin? Not necessarily on what is its impact, the trend and how it’s shaping the international system, globalization, but what is your perception of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies? [In the way that] everyone being able to use and own their own banks and money, use it and trade it without any government regulation, authority. It is thoroughly decentralized and it’s unregulated, freely by the markets. [My question is] It’s not about the impact of cryptocurrencies, but your personal philosophical opinion about the creation of cryptocurrencies. Thank you. The question was sweeping in its context and summarized […]
