Mubasher: Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz said that bitcoin ought to be outlawed, as quoted by CNN on Sunday.
Today, the digital currency that has surpassed the level of $11,700, reaching an all-time high.
The American economist and professor at Columbia University told Bloomberg TV that "Bitcoin is successful only because of its potential for circumvention. It doesn't serve any socially useful function."
Another economist, academic, and Nobel laureate, Robert Shiller, who won the prize for his work on bubbles, said the currency appeals to some investors because it has an anti-government, anti-regulation feel.
The CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein said that bitcoin serves as a vehicle for perpetrating fraud.
The chairman of JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, previously labelled it a "fraud" that would "eventually blow up."
Similarly, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett has warned of a real bubble.
The appeal of bitcoin is increasing despite several warnings from central banks and experts of an asset bubble, as the digital currency is still rarely used to purchase actual goods or services, making it almost entirely a vehicle for speculation.
Bitcoin saw a series of fluctuations last week, after passing $10,000 on Tuesday, it surpassed the level of $11,000 on Wednesday, before later retreating to near $9,000.
It is worth noting that the bitcoin started from the price of 6 cents seven years ago, and less than $1,000 at the beginning of the year.
The recent rushes in the value of bitcoin comes as more traditional investors are entering its market, as they are afraid to miss out on achieving such high profits in a very short period of time.
CNN Money indicated that according to research site BitInfoCharts, the vast majority of bitcoin accounts contain just 0.1 bitcoin, equivalent to about $1,000 or less, while only 3% of more than 20 million bitcoin accounts hold one bitcoin or more.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Friday it would allow two major exchanges to launch bitcoin futures, according to Investing.com.
Meanwhile, CME Group, the world's largest derivative exchange operator, said its bitcoin futures would launch on 18 December.
Investors should also be able to start trading bitcoin futures via the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which is expected to give the virtual currency more legitimacy among professional investors, and Nasdaq is also planning to launch bitcoin futures as early as the second quarter of 2018.
