The general manager of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) Agustin Carstens has renewed the institution’s attacks on cryptocurrency, calling them “a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster.”
Carstens: Crypto ‘Fails Dramatically’ As Money
In an interview with Swiss news outlet Basler Zeitung, published June 25 with a translation on BIS’ own website July 4, Carstens hit out at Bitcoin’s popularity and said no cryptocurrency would have a “happy ending.”
“Cryptocurrencies do not fulfil any of the three purposes of money. They are neither a good means of payment, nor a good unit of account, nor are they suitable as a store of value. They fail dramatically on each of these counts,” he claimed.
The BIS sparked a backlash when it published a report earlier last month, with industry figures including Andreas Antonopoulos decrying its content as “FUD.”
Bitcoin Mining ‘Not Compatible’ With ‘Usefulness Of Money’
One of the more outspoken crypto critics among the banking sector, Carstens subsequently focused on mining, calling on “young people” to stop “trying to create money.”
Forget bankers, economists, politicians, journalists, or altcoins.
Bitcoin is up against the BIS, and THIS is The Final Boss it has to defeat: pic.twitter.com/1ahLtfZwdC— Saifedean Ammous (@saifedean) February 7, 2018
The comments took on an increasing ironic tone as the BIS chief claimed mining practices were a minus of cryptocurrency, failing to mention the unlimited capacity for money manufacture many governments currently enjoy.
“Those who have the biggest incentive in the system of these so-called cryptocurrencies are those who produce the assets – the miners. By producing “money”, they wish to make a profit, and in return they deliver, as it were, the infrastructure that keeps cryptocurrencies going,” he continued.
This incentive, however, is not compatible with maximising the usefulness of money.
Rebutting the BIS meanwhile continues from industry sources. Bob Loukas, founder of trading platform Bitcoin.Live, highlighted what he described as the “short-sighted” approach of the report, the authors of which were “unaware” of current trends.
“With claims that bitcoin is a ‘poor substitute’ for the traditional institutional backing of money and that the technology comes with ‘poor efficiency and vast energy use’ you could say that the powerful banking group is looking backward and not forward,” he wrote in written comments.
The report appears to be not only short sighted but also [unaware] of the revolutionary changes that are happening right now.
What do you think about Agustin Carstens’ criticism of cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below!
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