Bitcoin is ‘winning;’ currency without government is ‘great,’ says Nassim Taleb 

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of the bestsellers "The Black Swan” and “Fooled By Randomness,” is optimistic about cryptocurrencies.

“You cannot ignore the cryptocurrencies, particularly the bitcoin story and blockchain,” Taleb said at Times Networks’ India Economic Conclave on Tuesday. The Lebanese-American author believes that people of some countries, such as Lebanon, have “lost faith” in governments and banking systems.

“I am realizing Lebanon is in a situation where there is an implied currency control but the government cannot control bitcoin which is a good thing because people have no trust and the ability of the central bank which really causes the ponzi style collapse and the bitcoin does not have that,” said Taleb.

THE SCOOP

Keep up with the latest news, trends, charts and views on crypto and DeFi with a new biweekly newsletter from The Block's Frank Chaparro

By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Bitcoin is “winning,” according to the 59-year-old author, and currency without government is “great.” Taleb further said that he has an institute, which now accepts payments in bitcoin.

“I am very glad that we have cryptocurrencies...Of course, you are going to have frauds and ponzi schemes and all that with bitcoin and cryptos but when you see governments like in Lebanon, doing the ponzis you tell yourself what is better,” he said. 

This is not the first time the author has had a positive stance on cryptocurrencies. In response to a news story about capital controls imposed by Lebanese banks, he recently tweeted: “The most potent case for cryptocurrencies: banks are never there when you need them. And they are trying to bully the public so they avoid accountability and profit disbursements. Bankers are legal crooks.”  

About Author

Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.