The cryptocurrency investment debate continues
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The chief executive of Canada’s largest lender says that bitcoin needs monitoring but does not think that the cryptocurrency is a con.
Discussion about bitcoin has been prolific following comments made by JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon branding it a “fraud” and a “novelty” – and the Chinese government’s crackdown on its trading. Dimon’s comments led to a 14% drop in bitcoin value, although it has since recovered.
RBC’s Dave McKay spoke Thursday at a Reuters event in Toronto and said that while he did not think bitcoin had misrepresented what it is, he think’s Dimon’s concern surrounds the ability to move money around unsupervised.
Mr McKay said that it is that lack of supervision which means bitcoin needs to be monitored.
Asked how he would react if RBC staff were trading bitcoin, he said he would “probably ask them to stop,” although he said the bank is investigating how it could use the blockchain technology on which bitcoin relies.
The Canadian banker’s opinion was echoed by Viktor Shvets, head of global and Asia-Pacific equity strategy at Australian-headquartered investment bank Macquarie.
In a client note Thursday, he said that bitcoin is not a fraud and that cryptocurrencies “absolutely” have a place in investment portfolios.
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Although Shvets noted that bitcoin is very unstable and has yet to be generally accepted as a store of value.
A warning from the Wolf
Not everyone is pulling away from Jamie Dimon’s comments.
The Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort, told The Street that he doesn’t think bitcoin is a great model.
He said he would be “very, very careful about investing a lot of money in something that could vanish quickly” but stopped short of saying investors should not get involved.
However, on the matter of central bankers, the Wolf told The Street that their involvement may be more than simply regulatory.
"Sooner or later, a central bank or a consortium is going to issue their own cryptocurrency and that's what will take hold," he said.
