Former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak is not a fan of cryptocurrencies. According to a report in Globes, Barak considers crypto and Bitcoin one big Ponzi Scam.
Barak served as the tenth Prime Minister from 1999 to 2001 and was the leader of the Labor Party until January 2011. The former PM has previously been Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s second-term government from 2009 to 2013.
Barak recently became Chairman of medical cannabis company InterCure Ltd, and was asked at an event, whether investing in the drug was comparable to the Bitcoin mania of last year:
“The cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and all the others, that’s a Ponzi scheme. I don’t believe that it’s possible to make a currency in this way in the current generation, and I wouldn’t invest in anything that’s related to cryptocurrencies. Whoever has got the patience and understands blockchain deeply, can find a lot of uses for it, from keeping sensitive medical information through to contracts,” stated Barak.
While Barak does not think highly of crypto he does see opportunity in blockchain calling the tech “interesting and important.”
Ophir Gertner, Founder of Smartologic, commented on the former PMs statement saying “the Crypto market as a whole has become a punching bag.”
“Such opinions including the views of many companies in Israel have become especially popular against the backdrop of the sharp fluctuations and devaluations in the currencies recently. We see that regulation is now required, as the absence of financial supervision has given cryptocurrencies a negative reputation and tarnished blockchain’s image internationally.”