Bitcoin payments are the 'second stupidest idea I’ve heard,' says Late Show’s Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert, the charismatic host of CBS’ The Late Show, isn’t holding back his punches or his jokes when it comes to Bitcoin.

In a segment dubbed “Quarantinewhile,” which features a roundup of amusing news stories for viewers to watch while stuck inside, Colbert referenced a recent report from Vice in which hackers took control of internet-connected chastity cages — devices worn by men to prevent them from engaging in any sort of sexual activity — and demanded Bitcoin (BTC) to unlock them.

“Getting paid in Bitcoin? That’s the second stupidest idea I’ve heard,” said Colbert with a chuckle, implying the first would be:

“Apparently these people hooked up their dong cages to the net and then they got hacked [...] Of course this is going to happen — it’s one thing to give control of your deprivation box to a loved one, but it’s quite a leap of faith to say: let’s put my junk up in the cloud.”

Colbert was one of the few late night talk show hosts to do a mainstream segment on cryptocurrency back in April 2013 when the price of Bitcoin was fluctuating between $50-300. At the time, the then Colbert Report host seemingly agreed with Wall Street analyst Nick Colas’ assessment of the cryptocurrency, calling it “gold for nerds.”

“Bitcoin joins a rich tradition of made up currencies like Camel Cash and the Euro,” said Colbert. “Bitcoin has worth just because a bunch of people on the Internet have agreed that it is worth something.”

“If you don’t know what Bitcoin is… wanna buy some Bitcoin? No? You sure?”

At the time of publication, the price of Bitcoin is $39,350, having risen more than 40,000% since that segment was broadcast eight years ago.