There are numerous opinions on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Most financial experts see Bitcoin as a negative presence in the financial world. Robert Shiller, on the other hand, deems cryptocurrency to be an ‘interesting experiment”. He is mainly baffled by how difficult it is for investors to effectively short the Bitcoin price. Even so, it is safe to say BTC has gone viral as a currency.
Robert Shiller has some interesting opinions on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. First of all, he is convinced Bitcoin is an interesting experiment, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Additionally, Shiller is concerned about the ongoing price instability. Volatile price swings have been a second nature for all cryptocurrencies as long as people can remember. it is doubtful that situation will come to a change in the near future, but one never knows what the future will hold in this regard.
Robert Shiller is Optimistic About Bitcoin
According to Robert Shiller, Bitcoin is an attempt to change the concept of currency. Although it is a clever idea, there is no guarantee the world’s leading cryptocurrency will succeed. At the same time, there is a very real chance Bitcoin will become a success. Shiller is more interested in seeing governments emulate units of account constantly adjusted for inflation to maintain price stability. Bitcoin will never fit that bill by any means, mainly because of its lack of inflation. New coins are still mined, but the supply ends at 21 million coins.
Robert Shiller comments on cryptocurrencies as follows:
“I tend to think of bitcoin as an experiment. It is an interesting experiment, but it’s not a permanent feature of our lives. We are over-emphasizing bitcoin, we should broaden it out to blockchain, which will have other applications. We’ve just seen that both the Cboe and CME have both created futures markets for bitcoin and that might make it more stable.”
Speaking of the Bitcoin futures, they have made no real impact so far. Robert Shiller acknowledges how shorting Bitcoin is still pretty difficult. Investors can do so with relative ease, but there seems very little interest in doing so. After all, recent statistics show every short has four long positions to counter it. That in itself is a remarkable trend well worth keeping an eye on. It’s good to hear different opinions on Bitcoin, especially from individuals such as Robert Shiller.
Header image courtesy of Shutterstock