Kathryn Parsons, Co-founder of Decoded, Alex Chisholm, Will Hayward and Jon Matonis discuss Bitcoin at the IoD conference

The head of the competition regulator has endorsed bitcoin, calling the controversial digital currency “very welcome” to the market.

Alex Chisholm, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, said the success of bitcoin would depend on trust but had the potential to liberate people held down by corrupt governments.

“It’s very welcome to see competition in the market, like many others,” he told the Institute of Directors’ annual gathering at the Royal Albert Hall.

“Fundamentally, currency is about trust and governments don’t have a monopoly on trust anymore.”

Financial companies were coming bottom of consumers’ lists of trusted businesses, he added, and they should rebrand themselves as technology business, which are the most trusted.

Mr Chisholm said bitcoin could also help people break the