Investing in Bitcoin is Like Entering a Minefield

Sergey Shvetsov – a member of the Bank of Russia Board of Directors – urged investors to stay away from bitcoin. In his opinion, allocating money in the asset is highly risky and could result in a total loss.

Bitcoin Is a ‘Technological Financial Pyramid’

The first deputy governor at the Central Bank of Russia – Sergey Shvetsov – sounded a note of caution for local investors to beware of alternative financial instruments such as bitcoin. He argued that investing in it is so risky that it can be compared to entering a minefield:

“When buying Bitcoin, a person enters a minefield, and there is no one to rely on besides himself, and no one can protect him. There is no need to walk where you are not protected by the Russian Federation, where your money would be simply taken away, and you will not be able to do anything about it.”

Shvetsov, who interestingly is a former soccer player, continued bashing bitcoin and described it as an example of a “technological financial pyramid.” He warned that the Russian Federation has no power to prevent such scams if people happen to lose their funds:

“We initiate the closure of sites, banks stop payments. But there are other channels that appear very quickly, where a person cannot be helped. For example, if he has an account with bitcoins, and the pyramid collects bitcoins. There is no way to block the transfer from his account to the account of the financial pyramid in bitcoins.”

Still, the top banker revealed that the Bank of Russia is willing to introduce testing programs for some digital assets. However, these are issued by Russian firms and operate under local legislation. Shvetsov concluded that testing and certification effectively inform citizens about the risks associated with investments in this asset class.

Bank of Russia Is Not Keen on Crypto

Top executives at the Central Bank of Russia seem to have a rather hostile stance on cryptocurrencies as Shvetsov’s opinion is not the first such example.

As CryptoPotato reported, Elvira Nabiullina – the Chief of Russia’s Central Bank – asserted that digital assets are very volatile and warned investors to be wary of ”appalling” losses. She went further, stating that investing in virtual currencies is more dangerous than any other option:

“Speculative cryptoassets are surely the most dangerous strategies of all. The Central Bank never gives advice, where to invest, but in this particular case – here [one] should definitely not [invest].”