Bitcoin’s value may have risen 92 percent in the past year with a market cap of more than $1 trillion (approximately Rs. 75,87,463 crore), but skeptics remain, including Eswar Prasad, a professor of international trade policy at Cornell. University and an author, believes that the largest cryptocurrency may not last much longer. Prasad stated in a recent interview that Bitcoin could disappear due to a lack of efficiency and the inability to facilitate exchange as a means of payment.
Prasad believes that Bitcoin has no fundamental value because it cannot function as a suitable medium of exchange. “Bitcoin’s use of blockchain technology is not very efficient. It uses a validation mechanism for transactions that are environmentally destructive and do not scale very well,” he said in an interview with CNBC.
Prasad added that Bitcoin’s days may be numbered, adding that blockchain will become Bitcoin’s greatest legacy. The Indian-American economist opposed the consensus mechanism for Bitcoin’s “environmental destruction”, adding that these are the new green alternatives. “I think the promise of blockchain decentralized financing is real, but Bitcoin itself may not last long,” Prasad said.
However, he admitted that Bitcoin had “revolutionized” payments, citing central banks now rushing to issue their own digital currencies. “
Prasad further explained that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) “could be good in many ways in terms of providing an additional payment option, a low-cost payment option that everyone can access, increasing financial inclusion and potentially increasing of financial stability.”
“While you may not like Bitcoin, it has really revolutionized it that could benefit all of us directly or indirectly.”
Prasad, who previously served as head of the financial studies division of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) research division and head of the IMF’s China division, also praised fiat-pegged stable currencies for creating a more efficient way of transferring money. to exchange.
Bitcoin’s value and popularity has skyrocketed since its inception 12 years ago, but trading has been extremely volatile lately. The largest digital currency is currently valued at $48,792 (about Rs. 37.02 lakh), down 2.21 percent in the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency is up 92 percent so far, but has fallen nearly 22 percent in the past month.
