Bitcoin is a speculative gamble, according to the governor of the Bank of Japan, who also warns about price volatility.
The Bank of Japan’s governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, has joined the list of central bankers targeting Bitcoin (BTC) during the present turmoil.
According to a report by Bloomberg on Friday, Kuroda argued against the value proposition of the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, stating:
“Most of the trading is speculative and volatility is extraordinarily high. It’s barely used as a means of settlement.”
The BOJ governor’s criticism comes as Bitcoin has lost more than half of its value since reaching an all-time high of $64,000 in mid-April.
Indeed, numerous central bankers have used Bitcoin’s recent price volatility to criticize BTC and cryptocurrencies in general.
Earlier in May, Luis de Guindos, vice president of the European Central Bank, stated his dissatisfaction with Bitcoin. According to Cointelegraph, the ECB executive claimed at the time that cryptocurrencies had weak foundations and did not qualify as a legitimate investment.
The governor of Denmark’s central bank, Lars Rohde, has denied the potential of cryptocurrency undermining central bank sovereignty. According to Rohde, big tech, not crypto, is the true challenge to old financial gatekeepers.
Nobody who bought #bitcoin and Hodled for 4+ years (200 weeks) ever lost money, EVER. https://t.co/oDeJbCC9hW pic.twitter.com/BCK37uTsbF
— PlanB (@100trillionUSD) May 28, 2021
Also in May, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, warned that crypto investors were liable to lose all their money. However, as tweeted by PlanB, creator of the Bitcoin stock-to-flow model, long-term BTC “hodling” — owning Bitcoin for at least 200 weeks (four years) — has never resulted in a loss position for owners.
Despite Bitcoin’s 50% drop since mid-April, BTC is still up approximately 22% year to date and has given fourfold gains to holders over the previous year. Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio has even said that Bitcoin is a better investment than government bonds.
Aside from condemning Bitcoin, Kuroda repeated the views of other central bankers on the possible feasibility of stablecoins as long as their issuers adhere to tight regulatory regulations.