Bitcoin’s Swings Hurt Viability as Currency, Fed Economist Says

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The value of the digital currency Bitcoin has fluctuated “violently,” making it less useful as a form of payment compared with more stable currencies such as the U.S. dollar, according to a Federal Reserve economist.

“You don’t want that in a monetary instrument,” David Andolfatto, a vice president at the St. Louis Fed, said today in a presentation in St. Louis, referring to Bitcoin’s “wild” fluctuations in purchasing power. “A good money should maintain a stable purchasing power over short periods of time.”