Despite its explosive growth over the past few months, not everyone is interested in investing in bitcoin. Recently the CEO of the Swedish bank based in Stockholm, Nordea Bank, ruled against the cryptocurrency labeling it as an "absurd construction".
Casper von Koskull explained during the interview on Tuesday December 5 that bitcoin cryptocurrency is too prone to speculation and that if there is so much evidence of its use to commit financial crimes it does not make sense to give it more strength. Von Koskull considers it as the most vulnerable part of the financial chain, so he does not see the advantages of its use.
When you see the financial crimes, how does Bitcoin get in there? If somehow you allow it to live without controls then, given the billions we spend, both in financial regulations and in the financial system, I think it's a joke that you simply let yourself live something like that.
It's as if society were a house. We have put huge sums to block the main entrance and install security systems and then leave the kitchen door open. The financial system is as strong as its weakest link.
The bank has recently been involved in investigations because of the legitimacy of capital, both in Denmark and Switzerland and in the United States. In May, Julie Galbo, Head of Risks at Nordea Bank, explained to the Danish parliament that virtual assets had a lot to do with the difficulty of fighting this problem. In addition, he mentioned that Bitcoin is a risky currency due to the anonymity it offers and the lack of regulation of an external entity.
Also the head of the investment office of the largest pension fund in Denmark, the Arbejdsmarkedets Tillægspension (ATP), recently spoke during an interview in Copenhagen with his opinion about Bitcoin. Kasper Ahrndt Lorenzen stressed the problem that, unlike other types of assets, Bitcoin does not have a risk premium to protect investors.
Of course you can sit down and read about the technical design, but Bitcoin and the role you're supposed to play is something we basically do not feel comfortable with.
I believe that one should simply be humble as an investor. When you do not feel comfortable about something, you have to be a little humble and not get into that.
But not all opinions are so negative. Lorenzen mentioned that if it is the case that Bitcoin has greater stability and the company ATP feels more comfortable with it, it is likely that they adopt it among their investments with a figure similar to that of other fiat currencies.
Denmark has a large participation in the fight against the legitimation of capital, especially when using crypto-active agents. In February, the National Center for Cyber Crime created a method that compares bank movements with cryptocurrency transactions to detect suspicious transactions that should be investigated in greater depth by the police.
The approach of the Swedish authorities has been similar, although the strongest complaint in relation to cryptoactives was against Jamie Dimon and JP Morgan. The executive was accused of participating in the fall in the price of bitcoin because of his comments discrediting the currency, while the leading firm bought the assets at a lower price. Ironically, after that event, financial authorities in Switzerland also accused Dimon and his firm of failing to comply with laws against money laundering.