The world-renowned expert on the history of economics, a former professor of history at Harvard University and a senior fellow at Oxford University Nial Ferguson admitted that he was wrong about Bitcoin, once calling him "an illusion." This writes the Australian Financial Review .
A British scientist learned about Bitcoin five years ago from his son, but refused to follow his advice and acquire cryptocurrency. As Ferguson said then, all this is nothing more than an illusion and another eccentricity, and the technology itself has no future.
However, speaking this week at The Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney, he acknowledged that he now regrets that he did not listen to the words of his son. And it’s not even a lost investment opportunity that Ferguson realized when he saw how Bitcoin rose in price from $ 400 to $ 19,000, but also in the most fundamental technology of the blockchain .
“I was very wrong. I was mistaken when I said that blockchain-based currency cannot be used , ”said the scientist.
Admitting that his initial prejudices against Bitcoin were based on previously acquired knowledge of the history of financial innovations and fiat currencies, Ferguson also noted that the decline in the market after December 2017 was not terrible.
Moreover, if you look at the levels to which you have dropped over the past year with a bit of bitcoin, then they say that the cryptocurrency is quite stable:
“The current $ 3,000 – $ 4,000 is very far from a price collapse. And I don’t think that this is all an illusion , ”said Ferguson.
Noting that certain investors can certainly be attracted by the fact that the cryptocurrency does not correlate with traditional asset classes, he also raised the issue of broader Bitcoin prospects.
In particular, Ferguson said, the next ten years are more likely to be more innovative for finance, since in many ways their development was constrained by strict regulatory rules adopted by world governments after the 2008 crisis.
"This will be a truly revolutionary time," the scientist added.
Earlier, the author of the famous work “Black Swan” Nassim Taleb said that in the long run, he would prefer to keep Bitcoin rather than a dollar, although he admitted that he would choose the latter between cryptocurrency and gold.
However, it is worth noting that investing in Bitcoin is much more accessible and more transparent for an ordinary investor than investing in gold. In addition, the purchase of Bitcoin is not subject to additional taxes, in contrast to the purchase of gold.
Publication date 10.03.2019
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