Crypto traders should be warned ‘abandon all hope’, NatWest’s boss declares, as he praises China for ‘banning the damned stuff’
- Sir Howard applauded China for their ‘instinct’ in banning ‘the damned stuff’
- He said it was ‘quite a worry’ that more Britons own crypto assets than shares
- Last week, China made financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies illegal
The boss of NatWest said the trading of cryptocurrency should come with the warning slogan ‘Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here’.
Sir Howard Davies, the chairman of the NatWest Group, applauded China for their ‘instinct’ of banning ‘the damned stuff’.
Referencing the inscription over hell’s gates, as told by Dante, Sir Howard said he was ‘very hostile’ towards the practice of trading crypto.
Sir Howard Davies said crypto trading should come with slogan ‘Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here’ and called it ‘gambling’
‘It’s gambling as far as I can see, with a sort of libertarian veneer on top of it. You should put a big sign on the door saying, Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here,’ Sir Howard told The Times.
Last week, China’s central bank said all financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies were illegal, sounding the death knell for the digital trade in China.
Sir Howard, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England and former head of the independent Airports Commission, said revelations that more Britons own crypto assets than shares was also ‘quite a worry’.
According to the Financial Conduct Authority, 2.3million people in the UK owned crypto assets as of June this year.
There is no outright ban in the UK but investors have been warned they could lose all their money.
The global values of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin massively fluctuated over the past year partly due to Chinese regulations, which sought to prevent speculation and money laundering.
The notice banned all related financial activities involving cryptocurrencies, such as trading crypto, selling tokens, transactions involving virtual currency derivatives and ‘illegal fundraising’.
Sir Howard said he did not agree with everything from Beijing but admired their ‘instinct’ to ban crypto.
Last week, China’s central bank said all financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies were illegal, sounding the death knell for the digital trade in China. Pictured: A worker adjusts crypto mining rigs in Sichuan province
After China announced its ban, Bitcoin, which had already been falling before the announcement, sank by as much as 8.9 percent to $41,019 in European afternoon trading before recovering slightly later on Friday.
The People’s Bank of China said that in recent years trading of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies had become ‘widespread, disrupting economic and financial order, giving rise to money laundering, illegal fund-raising, fraud, pyramid schemes and other illegal and criminal activities’.
This was ‘seriously endangering the safety of people’s assets,’ the PBOC said.
Source: Read Full Article
