Bitcoin will implode one day, warns Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed 

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, Saudi billionaire and founder of Kingdom Holding 
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Saudi billionaire and founder of Kingdom Holding 

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is the latest senior financier to attack bitcoin with a warning that the digital currency will "implode" and is "Enron in the making".

Comparing the currency to the US energy giant which collapsed in 2001 following one of the biggest accounting scandals in US history, he said: "I just don't believe in this bitcoin thing. I think it's just going to implode one day." 

Talking to CNBC on Monday, he added that "this thing is not regulated, it's not under control, it's not under the supervision of any central bank". 

One of the wealthiest people in the world with a net worth of around £14.6bn, the Saudi prince is the chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company whose investments include a string of US giants such as Twitter.

He is the latest financier to slam into digital currencies, his comments coming hours after American stockbroker Jordan Belfort – who spent 22 months in prison for crimes including fraud and was immortalised in the film The Wolf of Wall Street – called initial coin offerings (ICOs) "the biggest scam ever".  

Criticising ICOs, which are linked to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins, Mr Belfort said the new fundraising method was "far worse than anything I was ever doing" and "the biggest scam ever". 

The value of bitcoin has rocketed this year, exceeding that of an ounce of gold for the first time in March. Around 16.5m bitcoins were in circulation as of July 2017. 

JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon said last month that he would fire anyone trading bitcoin because it is "stupid" and "will blow up". 

In a scathing attack on the currency, he added that it was "a fraud" and "worse than tulip bulbs", referring to the famous market bubble from the 1600s. "It won't end well. Someone is going to get killed," he said.    

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