USA. and Europe warned about the dangers of investing in cryptocurrencies. And they analyze new regulations. For Stiglitz, Krugman, Shiller and Roubini, "it's a fraud".
The future of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is uncertain. After the sharp rise and fall in their price, central banks, investors, financial groups, regulatory bodies and economists are calling for measures to curb illegal and speculative activities. Even the United States and European countries today recognize that they took the issue lightly and that they plan to reinforce controls for the risks posed by virtual currencies.
Last Monday, the North American SEC announced that they will promote specific regulations in Congress. Its owner, Jay Clayton, warned about the dangers posed by this kind of investment. "If an opportunity sounds too good to be true, or if you are pressured to act quickly, be very careful and be aware that you risk losing your money," he said. Almost in tune, regulators of Spain advised people to be prudent and to "value if they have enough information to understand what is being offered to them".
Those reactions come from the extreme volatility of cryptocurrencies. Postulated and publicized as an alternative to traditional money, from December to date bitcoin went from trading US $ 19,500 to falling below US $ 6,000 and then rising to US $ 9,000, with strikingly pronounced and dizzying peaks. That brought consequences: first, South Korea eliminated the anonymity in the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, due to suspicions of illicit acts such as laundering. And later, 4 financial groups (Lloyds Banking Groups, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citi) decided to prohibit the use of credit cards for the purchase of bitcoins.