“Cryptocurrency Presents More Risk Than Benefits,” Says Spain’s Central Bank Governor

News | May 25, 2018 By:

Luis María Linde, the governor of Spain’s central bank, has warned that cryptocurrency presents more risk than benefits.

In a speech at a meeting of leaders of the financial sector organized by Deloitte, Linde said that cryptocurrencies are spurious novelties that do not provide significant improvements and that should be tackled as soon as possible.

“[Cryptocurrencies] have low acceptance as a means of payment, suffer extreme volatility, present multiple operational vulnerabilities, and have been related to fraudulent or illicit activities in many cases,” said Linde.

Regarding blockchain technology, Linde said it “offers interesting possibilities,” but the technology is “still not quite mature.” He also warned that the current global move to a digital economy came with risks and challenges.

“The move to a more digital economy is accompanied by greater cyber threats and it is necessary to develop new measures to protect processes, assets and customer data,” Linde said.

Cryptocurrencies have not yet been regulated in Spain and are not considered to be legal currency since they are not issued by the government’s monetary authority. However, they may be considered digital goods and transactions with cryptocurrencies may be governed by the rules of barter contained in the Civil Code.

In April of this year, the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT), Spain’s Tax Agency, asked financial firms to turn over information on cryptocurrency investors in an effort to crack down on online tax evasion.