First there was "Chicken Little" (the sky is falling, the sky is falling) and now Thomas Peterffy (Chairman of Interactive Brokers) crying bitcoin could ruin the "real economy". Be afraid, very afraid, of bitcoin. Not like Jamie "its a fraud" Dimon, but rather bitcoin could pose a risk to economies. And bitcoin futures are too risky? Said the man who took risks to become a billionaire and, by the way, will allow cryptotrading at Interactive Brokers.
Personal History Note; when the CBOE launched listed options they were going to destroy the equity markets (didn't happen) and when the CME introduced the S&P 500 futures they were going to be way too risky and dangerous (didn't happen 2.0). So, any new products will have a sense of uncertainty and fear until they are used accordingly. Oh, yeah I'll give you one. CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) back ten years ago. Now THEY should have been feared (collapse did happen).
(Bill Taylor/CEO)
- "Interactive Brokers chairman Thomas Peterffy, who took out a full page ad in The Wall Street Journal to warn about bitcoin, insists he doesn't hate the cryptocurrency.
- Peterffy insists he doesn't actually oppose trading the cryptocurrency. He just thinks it needs to stay far away from the "real economy."
Thomas Peterffy, the billionaire founder and chairman of Interactive Brokers, has never been a huge fan of bitcoin. But his bearishness reached new highs this week, when he took out a full page ad in The Wall Street Journal, warning Commodity Futures Trading Commision Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo of the dangers of bitcoin.
Despite the dramatic gesture, Peterffy, who some call "the father of high speed trading," insists he doesn't actually oppose trading the cryptocurrency. He just thinks it needs to stay far away from the "real economy."
"I think bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are great ideas. They should be allowed to be traded freely and used freely to find their appropriate role in the economy," Peterffy said Wednesday on CNBC's "Fast Money."..."
Full Story at CNBC.com