Raj Date, the former Deputy Director of the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a consumer finance watchdog, said in an interview this week that he supports – and is now investing in – bitcoin.

During a segment of Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart,” Date commented that, on a personal level, he sees a lot of potential in digital currencies like bitcoin.

“The thing I like about innovation in consumer finance, like bitcoin, like digital currency, is exactly the same reason I went to the CFPB. How is it that you can take new ideas and make the system work better for people?”

Pros and cons

Date currently serves on the board of directors for bitcoin stratup Circle Internet Financial. He is also the founder and managing director of Washington, D.C.-based investment firm Fenway Summer.

In the interview, Date said that bitcoin has the potential to deliver faster and more secure payments than is currently possible for most consumers, and remarked that the pace of innovation could result in a broader evolution in digital currencies.

Date said:

“It’s entirely possible that there will be variants of other digital currencies, entirely possible that the form of bitcoin will continue to be developed and improved over time.”

He continued:

“The fact of the matter is that anything that actually solves the problems of consumers and merchants is, in my mind, a good thing.”

Looking ahead

Date also pointed to the evolution of the bitcoin business ecosystem as a positive development. Date held up the example of the liquidation of Mt. Gox as a sign that companies in the space are maturing.

He said:

“The new firms in this marketplace are considerably more serious-minded, consdierably better financed and take these things seriously.”

This industry transition was on display last week at Inside Bitcoins NYC. For more on that event, read our full report.

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