Former U.S. trading commissioner Bart Chilton has said that bitcoin is ânot a scam or fraud,â according to a news report.
Talking to Fox Business, Chilton made his comments in response to former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan who raised concerns on the sustainability of bitcoin last week â reportedly stating that cryptocurrencies do not have any âbacking.â
Chilton said:
âI donât think itâs, you know, a fraud, like [JPMorgan CEO] Jamie Dimon said, or a pyramid scheme like [Russian] President Putin said, I mean, people are actually using bitcoins to purchase things. So, thatâs not a scam or a fraud.â
âI do think itâs sustainable, I donât know if itâs sustainable at these prices,â he told the news channel.
Elsewhere in the interview, Chilton, who was commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2007â2014, expressed the hope that bitcoin regulations will bring some protections for consumers but will not be âoverly zealous.â He added that CME Groupâs plans to launch bitcoin futures by the yearâs end will bring needed regulations to the space.
His statements come soon after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said that cryptocurrencies are too âimmatureâ to be considered for regulation.
Bart Chilton image via Mathew Greenfield/YouTube