Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal sharply criticized bitcoin during an appearance on CNBC today, saying that he agrees with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimonâs assessment that the cryptocurrency is a âfraud.â
âI just donât believe in this bitcoin thing,â Al-Waleed said, according to a transcript published by CNBC. âI think itâs just going to implode one day. Itâs Enron in the making.â
When asked about the specific comparison between bitcoin and the infamous American energy company that fell apart in the early 2000s amid revelations of massive accounting fraud, Al-Waleed reiterated his position that he âjust [doesnât] believe in bitcoin completely.â
Al-Waleed went on to say:
âIt doesnât make sense. This thing is not regulated. Itâs not under control. Itâs not under the supervision [of] any federal â elect â United States Federal Reserve or any other central bank. I donât believe in this whole thing at all. I think itâs going to implode.â
It was then that Al-Waleed â a Saudi royal family member who, as head of the Kingdom Holding Company, has an estimated net worth of more than $17 billion â said he agreed with Dimon, who issued the now-infamous remark last month that he believes that bitcoin âis a fraud.â
Dimon â whose bank is a backer of blockchain-related initiatives like the Enterprise Ethereum Foundation â has since doubled down on those remarks, predicting that governments would begin targeting the cryptocurrency.
Image via CBS/YouTube