Joseph Stiglitz is, by any account, a renowned economist, an influential figure and scholar in world economics.

The 73-year-old American is notably a recipient of the Nobel prize in Economic Sciences in 2001 and is currently a professor at Columbia University, New York.

At a recent public event at London School of Economics while promoting his latest book, a member of the audience asked him:

Hi. My question is what is your opinion of bitcoin? Not necessarily on what is its impact, the trend and how it’s shaping the international system, globalization, but what is your perception of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies?

He replied:

My own view is: bitcoins have been greatly exaggerated. A common medium of exchange or a store of value is a basic public function and needs to be regulated.

Already, it is apparent that Stiglitz is, unsurprisingly, aware of bitcoin and the underlying potential that cryptocurrency observers praise it for.

The main use of bitcoin has been to circumvent tax authorities and regulation. I think the US government did the right of thing of shutting or trying to shut it down and I think effectively…it has done that.

Stiglitz is, of course, mistaken in his view that bitcoin has been ‘shut down’ by the U.S. government.

But his comments do reveal that he does not buy into the idea or notion of a borderless, unregulated world currency, free from any authority. It is somewhat unfortunate that Stiglitz’s grasp of bitcoin is so limited. Instead of seeing the potential how the IMF can use Bitcoin to support struggling economies, he rather lashed out against them. He once described of the IMF staff as:

“[T]hird-rate economists from first-rate universities.”

As things stand, Stiglitz’s take on bitcoin is somewhat coinciding with that of Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF. In a speech in late 2015, Lagarde was addressing bankers at a banking industry conference, quelling any fears that bitcoin and blockchain technology would threaten the banking industry.