Cryptocurrencies are a cry for help - Steve Forbes

Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief and head of Forbes Media, called bitcoin “a high-tech cry for help” caused by a lack of public trust in traditional currencies.

The first cryptocurrency can help against the authoritarian governments, he said in the recent interview with ARK Invest.

He believes that bitcoin played a key role in helping people in dire straits all over the world as it let them escape the governments that tried to control, starve and hurt their citizens.

Digital assets have a potential to minimize the risk of currency manipulation by governments or regulators, and that'' the reason why authorities around the globe see them as a threat, he added.

Now bitcoin's main task is to reach the level of trust comparable to the one of gold. Though, while the precious metal has been building its reputation for thousand years, bitcoin may do the same and become a trustworthy asset in a much shorter timeframe. 

Forbes also noted that digital assets were highly volatile, though he believes it is more important to focus on creating real-life use cases for bitcoin.

Notably, Steve Forbes supported Facebook's cryptocurrency project Libra and suggested that the new coin might replace US Dollar as a reserve currency.