Irish Central Bank Official Says Crypto’s Popularity Is ‘Great Concern’

A top official at the Central Bank of Ireland has warned investors over the risks of cryptocurrencies.

• Derville Rowland, director general of financial conduct at the central bank, told Independent.ie on Monday that the growth in popularity of cryptocurrencies is “of great concern.”
• “Crypto assets are quite a speculative, unregulated investment,” she said, adding that the public should be “really aware they could lose the whole of that investment."
• The comments come after several central bank governors, including Andrew Bailey of the Bank of England and Haruhiko Kuroda of the Bank of Japan, have made similar warnings.
• In March, the central bank moved to put cryptocurrency firms on the same footing as mainstream financial services providers, saying they will have to comply with anti-money laundering rules.
• While bitcoin looks to be heading towards the second-worst monthly loss on record, it is still up 25% so far this year.