According to Andrew Bailey, the Governor of Bank of England, crypto is a source of income for the criminals. They have been committing financial crimes and crypto frauds and have been paid in virtual currencies to avoid the law.
Andrew Bailey, who is the sitting Governor of the Bank of England, was online with audience lately and answered some of their questions. It was a virtual session, which was arranged by the central bank of UK on the subject of virtual currencies and assets. During the session, Bailey was asked to share his honest opinion with regard to the existence of virtual assets in the UK.
At first, he admitted the fact that UK’s digital asset industry is one of the fastest growing industry in the world. There is huge interest of Britons in acquiring digital assets and rightly so because they can earn millions in an hour. The high level of volatility in cryptocurrencies has been playing a crucial role in forcing public attraction. However, what people are ignoring is the fact that crypto is also a major cause of illegal activities in UK and worldwide.
Bailey suggested that crypto is an ultimate source of income for financial criminals and cyber-criminals. There are hardly any physical robberies that are taking place these days. Instead the criminals are robbing people through online. So what is happening is that people who are not criminals are now turning into criminals. They think that online fraud or even crime is not a crime and that even if it is crime, then can escape. The people with exceptional knowledge in computers are using their knowledge to their advantage. Their income is then dependent on virtual currencies and assets which they can cash out without anyone’s notice. So digital assets are providing them safe passage and an opportunity of earning.
He then suggested that to him, none of the digital currencies have neither any intrinsic nor fictional value at all. He quickly stated as well that this is his personal view and others’ view may differ from his view. Nevertheless, he emphasized that crypto investment is for those who are aware of the fact that they can lose entire money as well. It is a risky business where one day a person is a king and the other day he is a zero. He wouldn’t therefore suggest anyone to join crypto business. Instead his advice would be to make good use of the money by investing in Gold or in buying stocks of popular companies.
Bailey isn’t the first person in the UK who has an opinion against crypto. Crypto continues to be blamed for multiple causes such as corruption, money laundering, ransomware, hacks, terrorism funding etc. It is also being blamed for polluting the climate because the mining of virtual assets consume high amount of electricity.
