Bernanke to Give Keynote Speech at October Cryptocurrency Event – Bloomberg

Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, will be the keynote speaker at a blockchain and banking conference in October hosted by Ripple, the startup behind the fourth largest digital currency.

The three-day event, called Swell, starts Oct. 16 in Toronto, Ripple said in a statement on its website. Bernanke, who has criticized cryptocurrencies in the past, will be interviewed by Gene Sperling, the former national economic adviser under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Bernanke wrote that virtual currencies could have long-term promise in a 2013 letter to Congress. However, in a 2015 interview with Quartz, he said bitcoin has some serious problems, including its anonymity and lack of stability. Bernanke was not immediately available to comment.

Since the former Fed chairmans remarks, the largest cryptocurrency has skyrocketed in value, fueling excitement among enthusiasts but skepticism among critics worried that the digital coin is in a bubble.

Related: Ripple Is Seeing More Volume in Fiat Currencies, Less in Bitcoin

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Bernanke to Give Keynote Speech at October Cryptocurrency Event - Bloomberg