A skeptic of crypto, Bailey was asked at a press conference about the rising value of cryptocurrencies. He said, as quoted by CNBC: “They have no intrinsic value. That doesn’t mean to say people don’t put value on them, because they can have extrinsic value. But they have no intrinsic value.”
The BOE governor added: “I’m going to say this very bluntly again – buy them only if you’re prepared to lose all your money.”
Bailey’s comments follow a similar warning from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which said in January that “Investing in crypto assets, or investments and lending linked to them, generally involves taking very high risks with investors’ money.”
The financial services watchdog added: “If consumers invest in these types of product, they should be prepared to lose all their money.”
Meanwhile last month, the Bank of England said it would team up with the UK Treasury to explore central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. The taskforce is expected to look at use cases, opportunities, and risks of a potential digital pound.
© 2021, paradox. All rights reserved.
