Saudi Billionaire Alwaleed Sees Enron-Like Demise for Bitcoin

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed is joining the long line of skeptics saying bitcoin is a bubble as the digital currency continues to set record highs.

“I just don’t believe in this bitcoin thing. I think it’s just going to implode one day. I think this is Enron in the making," Alwaleed told CNBC in an interview. "It just doesn’t make sense. This thing is not regulated, it’s not under control, it’s not under the supervision" of any central bank, he said.

The prince, who has a knack for early-stage investing in technology companies like Twitter and AOL, joins the likes of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon in lambasting the cryptocurrency.

Dimon called bitcoin a “fraud” and said he would fire any employee trading it for being “stupid.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Nour Al Ali in Dubai at nalali1@bloomberg.net, Shaji Mathew in Dubai at shajimathew@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Kingdon at ckingdon@bloomberg.net, Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka