A former member of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Sheila Bair, says that bitcoin should not be banned because it isn’t viewed to have an "intrinsic value."

In a piece published by Yahoo Finance, Bair says that any policies put in place should protect investors. Bair explains that fiat currency which has been a part of everyday life was once an emergent idea like bitcoin, an idea which was assigned a value by society because people required a medium which they could use for trade which depended on psychology rather than physical attributes.

She went on to say, "Rather than making its own value judgments about the value of bitcoin, what a government must do first is to ensure that any new policies do not further feed the market frenzy."

Using examples of occasions when governments have not maintained the value of their fiat currencies, Bair argues that she thinks the role of government should focus on ensuring that the market is free and fair.

Bair’s views are not entirely unexpected as she has previously held roles as a director and advisor to projects which are related to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, it is still notable as she previously served as a chair of the FDIC between 2006 and 2011.