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 The former chairman of the US Federal Reserve criticized Bitcoin and called the "main value" of the cryptocurrency

Former US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in his recent interview on CNBC, expressed a very harsh position on cryptocurrencies. According to him, the “goal of creating” digital assets was not achieved, as they were allegedly conceived as a replacement for traditional currencies. Moreover, the recent collapse of Bitcoin shows that the speculative role of crypto may also be under threat. Let's talk about the situation in more detail.

Note that the collapse of cryptocurrencies is still not over. In particular, today Bitcoin is estimated at 29 thousand dollars. The situation with the rest of the coins looks something like this.

Problems in the field of digital assets are primarily explained by the situation in the niche of traditional finance. In particular, the S&P500 continues to fall. Since January 1, 2022, the indicator has dipped by 18 percent and has not yet reached its bottom.

What is happening, among other things, worsens against the backdrop of global inflation and instability in geopolitics.

What are cryptocurrencies criticized for?

Here is one of Bernarke's quotes, in which he shares his vision of what is happening. The replica was published by the news outlet Decrypt .

If Bitcoin were a replacement for regular money, you could use it to skimp on the store. No one buys goods with Bitcoin because it is too expensive and inconvenient to use.

Note that this remark is not true. Yes, Bitcoin is not the most convenient network for making payments on a daily basis, since it takes at least ten minutes to complete a transaction. In addition, fees for transfers on the network are quite high: the average for yesterday was the equivalent of $1.86.

 However, it is important to remember that Bitcoin has the Lightning Network, which allows almost instant transactions for pennies. In addition, there are many modern cryptocurrencies like Avalanche, Solana and other coins suitable for making direct payments. Finally, in El Salvador, BTC is the official means of payment, so such replicas are erroneous.

Here’s another Bernanke remark, this time a direct comparison of cryptocurrencies with the utility of gold.

Gold can at least be used to fill voids. The main fundamental value of Bitcoin is extortion. One of the other risks associated with Bitcoin is that it could be subject to much more regulation and its anonymity threatened.

In general, you can hardly spend BTC in most stores in the world. However, we already have a precedent for the full legalization of cryptocurrency at the state level – we are talking about the already mentioned El Salvador, where Bitcoin became the official means of payment on September 7, 2021.

But Bernarke's comment about extortion is really a "sore subject." The volume of losses from fraud and hacker attacks in the crypto industry is still measured in billions of dollars . However, this should not become a phenomenon that overshadows the potential positive impact of the innovations that Bitcoin brings to global finance. In addition, fiat money is no less successfully used for extortion, ransom, and simply illegal activities.

See also: How much money have crypto investors and traders lost due to the current Bitcoin crash?

Bitcoin may not be understood or openly not recognized not only by well-known financiers. For example, the Coupon Follow platform recently conducted a survey among 1172 people of different ages who have not yet bought crypto. As it turns out, lack of understanding has been cited as the most popular reason for buyer indecision across generations, from young adults to so-called baby boomers. When asked about the reasons for refusing to buy cryptocurrencies, 42 percent of respondents answered that they “do not understand their value,” reports Cointelegraph .

However, judging by the report, interest in the study of cryptocurrencies has not faded away. Even if they are not willing to invest in them, most respondents are at least somewhat interested in learning more about crypto. However, at the same time, a significant part of the survey participants (39 percent) was scared away by the too high volatility of cryptocurrencies, that is, sharp changes in their value.

Eighteen percent of respondents said that learning more about the benefits of investing in cryptocurrencies is the most effective approach for moving from a skeptic to a dedicated crypto enthusiast. At the same time, in the millennial category, they believe that an increase in disposable income is the most likely scenario that will convince them to invest in cryptocurrency. But representatives of the younger generation are more interested in issues of state regulation and law enforcement in the digital asset industry.

We believe that Bitcoin is much more than just a "extortion tool". Yes, cryptocurrencies are used for illegal purposes, but the same can be said about fiat. At the same time, the value of BTC as the first cryptocurrency and the first generation blockchain primarily lies in the fact that it really allowed people to truly own their own money and dispose of it at their discretion. To deny this fact and oppose the decentralization of the financial sector can only be the one to whom it is unprofitable.

Hopefully, the popularity of the crypto market will convince all of them to join the development of the cryptosphere. Look for even more interesting things in our crypto chat of millionaires .