Quantum Fund co-founder Rogers: Governments may still ban cryptocurrencies

Blockchain Eye APP News: Jim Rogers, a veteran investor who co-founded the Quantum Fund with billionaire investor George Soros, remains concerned that governments will ban Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and that silver and gold may have a better future than cryptocurrencies because they are not competing with the U.S. dollar or other sovereign currencies.

Rogers Still Concerned About Government Banning Bitcoin

Rogers, who co-founded Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management, still believes that governments can ban Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. If cryptocurrencies become successful, most governments will ban them because they don't want to lose their monopoly. Rogers said he has never bought or sold any cryptocurrency.

Rogers believes that the biggest threat to Bitcoin is government regulation, but as long as it remains a trading tool, it will not be banned.

I know people who have made a lot of money trading it, and it's obviously a great tool to trade. But if it became a currency, which the cryptocurrency people say it is, I can't imagine any government in the world, or many governments, saying 'well, you can use our money, or their money,' that's not what history shows.

Commenting on Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell comparing Bitcoin to gold, arguing that both are used for speculation, Rogers agreed that people use both as trading tools. However, he added that history would show that silver and gold may have a better future than cryptocurrencies because they are not meant to compete with the U.S. dollar or other sovereign currencies.

Rogers isn’t the only one to warn about the government stepping in and clamping down on cryptocurrencies. Others include Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, “The Big Short” Michael Burleigh, and Ron Paul.

However, many also say that governments cannot outlaw Bitcoin. Hester Peirce, a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), recently said that it would be "foolish" for the government to try to ban Bitcoin and that banning it would be like shutting down the Internet. In addition, she said, "it is very difficult to ban something that is essentially a peer-to-peer technology."