Bitcoin had a tremendous week, despite all accounting, but Stefan Ingves, Governor of the Swedish Riksbank and Chairman of Global Regulators at Basel Committee, warned investors that the risk can be huge. According to the regulator, investing in Bitcoin is a dangerous business.
The banking regulator pointed out that investing in things that rise wildly is not usually a good idea, given the nature of investment in general. He said the future of crypto-currencies and the traditional banking world are not particularly related, and he pointed out that traditional banking was not a thing of the past. He said:
"Let me also point out that there is sometimes a little hype when people talk about fintech, thinking that old-fashioned banks are going to disappear, but I do not think that will happen because, no matter what technology is available, in most countries we have banks for hundreds and hundreds of years and it is highly likely that this will continue as well.
Other Views
Of course, many, both in and out of the crypto market, see Ingves' comments as myopic and skewed, given his Current status of banker Mark Yusko, for example, recently suggested that bankers should be afraid of Bitcoin and that the price had just started to increase
Here's what I believe. #Bitcoin entering knee from S-Curve and still has a lot to do … pic.twitter.com/nqlwis2uN0
– Mark W. Yusko (@ MarkYusko) December 6, 2017
Other industry insiders are in agreement, but also speculating that governments will continue to apply a new regulation on the cryptocurrency market. In particular, given the anonymity made possible by Bitcoin and others, it seems likely to some that governments will certainly seek higher levels of control. According to Ted O'Neill – Founder and Chairman of Narrative:
"We will continue to see governments getting more involved in the regulatory arena.Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are a threat to the status quo As crypto continues to gain momentum, it will force all governments to assess the net impact.The biggest long-term threat is for tax systems, the unmatched control that people have of crypto makes more difficult to monitor the flow of transactions, and many governments will want to regulate (and control) these transactions as much as possible. "