(Bloomberg) — Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said El Salvador’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as its currency was concerning because consumers probably will be caught out by its volatility.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Billionaire Family Feud Puts a Century-Old Business Empire in Jeopardy
Asia’s Richest Man Looks to Walton Family Playbook on Succession
The 24-Year-Old Aiming to Dethrone Victoria’s Secret
An Arab City’s Booming Art Scene Is Also a Grab at Soft Power
The Winners and Losers From a Year of Ranking Covid Resilience
“It concerns me that a country would choose it as its national currency,” Bailey said in response to a question at an appearance at the Cambridge University student union on Thursday. “What would worry me most of all is, do the citizens of El Salvador understand the nature and volatility of the currency they have.”
He added that the International Monetary Fund, which monitors risks to global financial markets, is not happy with El Salvador. The BOE is studying whether to create its own digital currency system to smooth online payments and give consumers a secure way of holding cash that will keep up with technology.
“There is a strong case for digital currencies, but in our view it has to be stable, particularly if it’s being used for payments. That is not true for crypto assets.”
Read More:
Bukele Says El Salvador Plans $1B in Tokenized Bitcoin Bonds (1)
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Speculators Are Stifled in Chivo Crackdown
El Salvador Leader Bukele Extends Bet on Bitcoin After 16% Loss
How El Salvador’s Bitcoin Experiment Got Rocky Start: QuickTake
Biggest Test in Bitcoin’s 12-Year History Has a Rocky Start (1)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Medical Debt Is Crushing Black Americans, and Hospitals Aren’t Helping
Wildfires Are Getting Worse, and One Chemical Company Is Reaping the Benefits
How Child Care Became the Most Broken Business in America
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
