Central banks continue to warn on crypto investments

A top-notch official at Ireland’s Central Bank has become the latest to criticise the rise of the cryptocurrency industry, warning investors that putting money in digital currency may result in a very high price to pay

Speaking to Bloomberg, Derville Rowland – the director-general of financial conduct at Ireland’s Central Bank (seen top left) said that the growing interest in digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum was a point “of great concern.”

“Crypto assets are quite a speculative, unregulated investment,” she said, warning that crypto investors should be “really aware they could lose the whole of that investment.”

Rowland leads the Irish Central Bank’s regulatory efforts and has recently been appointed as the chairwoman of the investment management standing committee of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

The Irish official’s comments arrive amidst similar views expressed by various central bankers around the world.

Only last week, Andrew Bailey, England’s Central Bank Governor, described cryptos as “dangerous,” remarking that they have “no intrinsic value.”

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda also went on record against Bitcoin last week, commenting on its “extraordinarily high” volatility.

“It’s barely used as a means of settlement,” he said.

The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, commented on the same vein, declaring that Bitcoin was “highly speculative” while underlining that it has been used for money laundering.

The ‘offensive’ from the traditional players in the world’s financial system comes as cryptocurrencies continue to surge in popularity among investors.

The global cryptocurrency market cap topped $2.5 trillion in May, up from $779.5 billion at the start of the year.

Bitcoin – the largest digital currency so far accounts to 41 per cent of the market.