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Bitcoin has taken a hit over the past couple of weeks along with Ripple and etherum. Fears over government crackdowns on cryptocurrencies have caused the price of Bitcoin to fluctuate. Economist Joseph Stiglitz warned bitcoin “must” be regulated to stop money laundering. He said: “We have a good medium of exchange, called the dollar, we can trade in that.

GETTY•BLOOMBERG Bitcoin price: Joseph Stiglitz warned that Bitcoin could face a crackdown

“Why do people want a bitcoin? For secrecy. “Why need it? We have a perfectly good currency. We are moving towards an electronic payments mechanism. I would like us to move more towards an electronic payments mechanism but you don’t need a bitcoin for that.” The economist, who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, also told Bloomberg that he wanted Bitcoin to be regulated. He said: “My feeling is that you regulate it so you cannot engage in money laundering.

Why do people want a Bitcoin? For secrecy Economist Joseph Stiglitz

“There would be no demand for bitcoin. By regulating the abuses you are going to relate it out of existence. “It exists because of its abuses. Bitcoin saw its highest value before Christmas when it reached the monumental price of just under $20,000. Bitcoin’s price has since fallen and according to CoinDesk now sits at 11,142.86 (£7,985.48) at 17.25pm (GMT) on Tuesday 23 January. According to CoinDesk ethereum has risen one percent today and sits at 1,013.52 (£725.72) at 17.26pm (GMT). While Ripple’s XRP price has also risen by 3.41 percent to $1.38 at 17.27pm (GMT).

Cryptocurrency price: A year in charts Mon, March 12, 2018 Compare crypto currencies (Ripple, Bitcoin, Ethereum, LiteCoin) on value, market cap and supply for the past year Play slideshow coindesk.com 1 of 10 LiteCoin is going down with the market dip