Bankers Continue to Sound the Bitcoin Alarm

Banco de Portugal Board of Director, Hélder Rosalino, explained to António Costa of Economia Online, “For now, it is necessary to demystify an idea, is that the crypto-currency is not a currency,” he said. Rather, “it is a convention, a computerized solution supported by a very powerful technological base,” he continued. “But it is not a coin, so we look at the crypto-coins with some concern and some caution.”
Of late, bankers public and private have increased their criticisms of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, especially as valuation all time highs appear to have no quick end in sight. From destabilization to fraud and money laundering, legacy banking is doing everything in its rhetorical power to sway opinion.
Mr. Rosalino’s main fear is counterparty risk “because if one does not know who is on the other side, besides the risk of acceptance and legal tender, that is, if there is no possibility of exchange of the virtual currency by a currency with regulators and central banks.”
Bank of Austria governor Ewald Nowotny recently added, “We’re asking ourselves if legislators or central banks should intervene, as happened in China where they banned (the use of cryptocurrencies) because they consider [cryptocurrencies] fraudulent.” This statement if of course incorrect, but old-world bankers aren’t too bothered with the actual facts involved.