Yerevan (CoinChapter.com) – Central Banks and Governments are not giving up on their attempts to discourage people from investing in cryptocurrencies.
Paradoxically, watchdogs that doubt the relevance of cryptocurrencies are the ones who feel threatened the most by their growing popularity.
This time, the news comes from Ireland, where a top bank official has considered it her duty to warn people about digital money.
Irish Central Bank Officials Oppose Crypto
Derville Rowland, the Director-General of financial conduct at Ireland’s Central Bank, is not happy with cryptocurrencies.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Rowland expressed concerns that the growing interest in digital assets was a point “of great concern.”
The new-found craze about Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptos has got the Central Bank of Ireland seriously concern.
According to Rowland, “Crypto assets are quite a speculative, unregulated investment,” and that investors should be “really aware they could lose the whole of that investment.”
Banks Against Crypto
Derville Rowland is the Director General (Financial Conduct) in the Central Bank of Ireland. She is responsible for consumer protection, securities, market supervision, policy enforcement, and risk mitigation. She is also a member of the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA).
Interestingly, Rowland is not the only central bank official worried about the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies. Earlier in May, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey discouraged investment in digital currencies. He expressed an opinion that cryptocurrencies have “no intrinsic value.”
“I’m going to say this very bluntly again. Buy them only if you’re prepared to lose all your money. I’m afraid currency and crypto are two words that don’t go together for me.” he had said.
A similar concern came from Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor of the Bank of Japan. The Japanese star banker had pointed at Bitcoin’s “extraordinarily high” volatility to justify his skepticism. “It’s barely used as a means of settlement,” he remarked, referring to the digital currency.
Meanwhile, former Chair and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde also expressed negative views about Bitcoin.
Lagarde, the President of the European Central Bank, called Bitcoin “highly speculative.” Calling for regulations and control, she pointed out that Bitcoin is used for laundering money.
During a conference call hosted by The Economist in February this year, Lagarde said she didn’t consider Bitcoin a real currency. She also made it very clear that the European Central Bank does not intend to hold Bitcoin (BTC) as a reserve currency anytime soon.
“It’s very unlikely — I would say it’s out of the question,” she said.
Derville Rowland’s skepticism around Cryptocurrencies comes at a time when the industry is gaining popularity and has become the investment of choice during the global pandemic.
