The chief economist of the Nasdaq-listed lending marketplace Lending Tree, Tendayi Kapfidze, has claimed he believes bitcoin is a “pyramid scheme” as its investors are looking to make money by selling it to someone else.
During an interview with Yahoo Finance, Tendayi Kapfidze said he believes bitcoin is a “solution in search of a problem,” but that still hasn’t found the problem it’s looking to solve. He said:
It’s a pyramid scheme. You only make money based on people who enter after you. It has no real utility in the world. They’ve been trying to create a utility for it for ten years now.
The prominent economist’s words come shortly after a report published by Bank of America revealed bitcoin was the best investment of the decade, as putting $10 into the flagship cryptocurrency would’ve yielded $90,000 in 10 years. This, despite the year-long bear market BTC went through in 2018.
Despite its success so far, financial experts claim cryptocurrencies are a speculative investment. Bruderman Asset Management Chief Market Strategist Oliver Pursche told Yahoo Finance he owns “several cryptocurrencies” bought in late 2016 and early 2017. Out of five cryptos he owns, he hopes “one of them will become an all-star.”
Pursche added he invested in cryptocurrencies to grow his portfolio and learn about their underlying technology. Per his words, you don’t invest in crypto “thinking that you’re going to become a billionaire or a millionaire as a result of it.” Instead, he argued, investing in crypto should be done “very soberly” while understanding everything can be lost.
Bitcoin has various proponents who claim its price is set to increase in the future. While some, like eccentric cybersecurity expert John McAfee, have extremely bullish predictions, billionaire investor Mike Novogratz predicted BTC will close 2020 above $12,000.
Bitcoin bears like gold bug Peter Schiff, on the other hand, believe the flagship cryptocurrency won’t last long. Schiff has predicted it’ll hit $1,000 before bouncing back, but that it will ultimately go lower.
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