Foxcrawl

Central banks need to be prepared to intervene and counteract the risks created by digital currencies, such as bitcoin, which have become a “combination of speculative bubble, pyramid scheme and ecological disaster,” said Agustin Carstens, general manager of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), according to The Wall Street Journal.

“There are strong arguments for an intervention by the authorities. These assets can give rise to concerns about the protection of consumers and investors. Relevant authorities have a duty to educate and protect investors and consumers and must be prepared to act,” Agustin Carstens said at an event held at the Goethe University in Frankfurt. “Private digital symbols claiming to be coins should not undermine confidence in central banks,” added Carstens without telling which concrete measures should be taken.

Agustin Carstens, a former governor of the Central Bank of Mexico, is the latest in a series of decision-makers who have ruled against digital currencies after Bitcoin, the best known cryptocoin, has seen a spectacular rise of over 1,000% in 2017.