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Saudi Prince Al-Waleed: Bitcoin Is 'Going to Implode'

A senior member of the Saudi royal family struck a critical tone about bitcoin during a media appearance today.

By Stan Higgins
AccessTimeIconOct 23, 2017 at 8:35 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 7:04 a.m. UTC
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Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal sharply criticized bitcoin during an appearance on CNBC today, saying that he agrees with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's assessment that the cryptocurrency is a "fraud."

"I just don't believe in this bitcoin thing," Al-Waleed said, according to a transcript published by CNBC. "I think it's just going to implode one day. It's Enron in the making."

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 "just [doesn't] believe in bitcoin completely."

Al-Waleed went on to say:

"It doesn't make sense. This thing is not regulated. It's not under control. It's not under the supervision [of] any federal – elect – United States Federal Reserve or any other central bank. I don't believe in this whole thing at all. I think it's going to implode."

It was then that Al-Waleed – a Saudi royal family member who, as head of the Kingdom Holding Company, has an estimated net worth of more than $17 billion – said he agreed with Dimon, who issued the now-infamous remark last month that he believes that bitcoin "is a fraud."

Dimon – whose bank is a backer of blockchain-related initiatives like the Enterprise Ethereum Foundation – has since doubled down on those remarks, predicting that governments would begin targeting the cryptocurrency.

Image via CBS/YouTube

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