'Stay Away' from Bitcoin, Warns Danish Central Bank Chief

The head of the Danish central bank has warned investors to "stay away" from bitcoin.

As reported by state broadcaster DR, Danmarks Nationalbank director Lars Rohde argued that bitcoin is "dangerous" and, likening bitcoin investment to gambling , he said: "If you do not like casinos, you've got a good alternative."

Rohde continued:

On a concluding note, the director added that the bitcoin market is "completely unregulated" and, thus, no protection is provided by the authorities. "It is the responsibility of the individual" and investors "should not come complaining to us if it goes wrong," he said.

Rohde's statements follow soon after an analysis from the central bank (published Dec. 15) stated that introducing a central bank-issued digital currency in the country would not result in better payment solutions and may also bring risks of financial instability.

"In a Danish context, it is unclear what central bank digital currency would be able to contribute that is not already covered by the current payment solutions," the analysis states.

Back in 2014, Danmarks Nationalbank compared bitcoin to "glass beads" – an apparent reference to the beads that were traded in past centuries for gold, ivory and other commodities. It stated that bitcoin is not money in the true sense of the word, as it is not backed by an issuing institution.

Editor's Note: Some of the statements in this report have been translated from Danish.

Danish central bank image via Wikipedia