Share this article
Greenspan Likens 'Irrational' Bitcoin to Revolutionary War Currency
The former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, has joined the many financial luminaries to recently criticize bitcoin's value.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:55 p.m. Published Dec 7, 2017, 11:10 a.m.
The former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, has joined the many financial luminaries to recently criticize bitcoin's value.
Speaking to CNBC, Greenspan compared bitcoin to that of an early American form of money called "Continental currency" that came into use in 1775 and had become worthless by 1782. The paper-based legal tender was used at the time of the American Revolution and was not backed by a commodity such as gold.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Noting that bitcoin will likely suffer similar fate, Greenspan said that a "significant share" of Continental currency was still used to create "real goods and services," even though it had no ultimate worth.
He continued:
"Bitcoin is really a fascinating example of how human beings create value, and is not always rational ... It is not a rational currency in that case."
Greenspan's comments come as the value of a bitcoin is soaring beyond most expectations, having gained thousands of dollars in value in the last two days. At press time, a bitcoin is worth over $15,000, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index.
The meteoric gains have prompted many figures in the financial industry to speak out, calling the bitcoin market a bubble. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon even went so far as to call the largest cryptocurrency by total market value a "fraud."
Alan Greenspan image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
DOT Sinks 2% After Breaking Key Support
The Polkadot token erased earlier gains amid elevated volume, falling from a high of $2.09 to $1.97.
What to know:
- DOT collapsed through ascending trendline support around the $2.05 level on a massive 284% volume surge.
- The token broke decisively below the support level to trade 2% lower over the last 24 hours.
Top Stories
