Bitcoin may still have a future as an asset, a commodity and a store of value such as gold, Bankman-Fried stated
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried has said that bitcoin has no future as a payments network and criticised the digital currency for its inefficiency and high environmental costs, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
“Proof of stake networks will be required to evolve crypto as a payments network as they are cheaper and less power hungry. I don’t believe bitcoin has to go as a cryptocurrency, and it may still have a future as an asset, a commodity and a store of value such as gold,” Bankman-Fried added.
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin is created by a process called proof of work, that requires computers to mine the currency by solving complex puzzles, as powering these computers need large amounts of electricity.
An alternative to the system is called the proof of stake network, where participants can buy tokens that allow them to join the network. The more tokens they own, the more they can mine.
Blockchain Ethereum, which houses the cryptocurrency ether, is working to move to this energy-intensive network.
Bitcoin touched its lowest since December 2020 last week, after the collapse of the stablecoin TerraUSD.
(With inputs from Reuters)
