WAR ON BITCOIN: Banking group calls for strict measures against cryptocurrencies
THE boss of one of the world’s most powerful banking groups has declared war on cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, branding them a “threat to financial stability”.
By HARVEY GAVIN
Express.co.uk
Wed, Feb 7, 2018
Agustín Carstens, the new head of he Bank for International Settlements (BIS), said virtual cash, especially bitcoin, is “pretend currency” and a “Ponzi scheme” which could undermine trust in traditional banks unless it is strictly regulated.
Signalling a global crackdown, he called on central banks to step in and impose stricter rules on the sale and transfer of cryptocurrencies.
Mr Carstens, speaking at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, said: “Central banks must be prepared to intervene if necessary.
“The meteoric rise of cryptocurrencies should not lead us to forget the important role that central banks play as administrators of public trust.”
He insisted “private digital coins that disguise themselves as currencies” should not undermine this trust.
For this reason, he said, central banks must not give the likes of bitcoin credibility by allowing them to use the same financial infrastructure used by traditional banks.
The Swiss-based BIS is made up of sixty central banks from the world’s leading economies, including the UK, United States, China, Japan and Germany.
Mr Carstens, who served as governor of the Bank of Mexico for nearly eight years, said new technology which allowed for quicker, more secure payments was promising.
The Rest…HERE
