Central bank: crypto 'derives value based on make believe', threatens financial stability
(2022/07/01)
- Reference: 1656637472
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/07/01/indian_reserve_bank_cryptocurrency_risks/
- Source link:
India's Reserve Bank has offered a scathing assessment of cryptocurrencies in its [1]latest financial stability report – saying the risks they create demand attention before they undermine established institutions.
"Cryptocurrencies are a clear danger," the report baldly declares in its Foreword, penned by Reserve Bank governor Shaktikanta Das. "Anything that derives value based on make believe, without any underlying [value], is just speculation under a sophisticated name."
The report doesn't assess cryptocurrency as an immediate danger, noting that crypto assets represent just 0.4 percent of all financial assets and their interoperability with the traditional financial system is "restricted".
[2]
But the Bank sees trouble on the horizon.
[3]
[4]
"The associated risks are, however, likely to grow as these assets and the ecosystem supporting their growth are evolving," the report states. "The risks from stablecoins that claim to maintain a stable value against existing fiat currencies require close monitoring, in particular – they are akin to money market funds and face similar redemption risks and investor runs because they are backed by assets that can lose value or become illiquid in times of market stress."
Another concern is that cryptocurrencies "are designed to bypass the financial system and all its controls, including Anti Money Laundering (AML)/Combatting the Financial Terrorism (CFT) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations."
[5]Intel ships crypto-mining ASIC at the worst possible time
[6]DARPA study challenges assumptions about distributed ledger (and Bitcoin) security
[7]Tencent's WeChat wants no more talk of cryptocurrency and NFTs
The report also notes that, historically, private currencies have not ended well.
"They create parallel currency system(s), which can undermine sovereign control over money supply, interest rates and macroeconomic stability," the report argues, adding "For developing economies, cryptocurrencies can erode capital account regulation, which can weaken exchange rate management."
[8]
The report also warns that FinTech companies pose various risks, and that powerful, cashed-up tech companies may make matters worse.
"BigTechs can scale up rapidly and pose risk to financial stability, which can arise from increased disintermediation of incumbent institutions," the document asserts.
"Moreover, complex intertwined operational linkages between BigTech firms and financial institutions could lead to concentration and contagion risks and issues relating to potential anti-competitive behaviour."
BigTechs can scale up rapidly and pose risk to financial stability
The document also weighs central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and notes that while they'll be considered a digital alternative to cash and individuals may have stored balances of the currencies, current thinking is that such deposits won't attract interest payments. That's of concern, the report states, because shifting money out of banks and into government-run CBDC wallets "could potentially decrease credit availability or increase credit costs."
India plans its own CBDC and wants it to [9]become the heart of a global digital payment scheme . The nation has also [10]introduced a hefty 30 percent tax on cryptocurrency income – a rate double the nation's capital gains tax – and taxes crypto transactions at one percent of value.
[11]
The Reserve Bank's report comes hot on the heels of China's state-sponsored blockchain boosters labelling cryptocurrency a [12]Ponzi scheme , and Singaporean authorities [13]warning crypto cowboys they'll be run out of town if they misbehave. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationReportDetails.aspx?UrlPage=&ID=1203
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Yr5xZAtztNB9CyW0M3uxDwAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/30/intel_ships_cryptomining_asic_at/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/22/research_challenges_assumptions_about_distributed/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/22/tencet_/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yr5xZAtztNB9CyW0M3uxDwAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/04/india_digital_payments/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/02/india_budget_2022/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yr5xZAtztNB9CyW0M3uxDwAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/28/execs_of_chinesestate_sponsored_blockchain/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/27/singapore_cbdc_crypto_policy/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"Cryptocurrencies are a clear danger," the report baldly declares in its Foreword, penned by Reserve Bank governor Shaktikanta Das. "Anything that derives value based on make believe, without any underlying [value], is just speculation under a sophisticated name."
The report doesn't assess cryptocurrency as an immediate danger, noting that crypto assets represent just 0.4 percent of all financial assets and their interoperability with the traditional financial system is "restricted".
[2]
But the Bank sees trouble on the horizon.
[3]
[4]
"The associated risks are, however, likely to grow as these assets and the ecosystem supporting their growth are evolving," the report states. "The risks from stablecoins that claim to maintain a stable value against existing fiat currencies require close monitoring, in particular – they are akin to money market funds and face similar redemption risks and investor runs because they are backed by assets that can lose value or become illiquid in times of market stress."
Another concern is that cryptocurrencies "are designed to bypass the financial system and all its controls, including Anti Money Laundering (AML)/Combatting the Financial Terrorism (CFT) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations."
[5]Intel ships crypto-mining ASIC at the worst possible time
[6]DARPA study challenges assumptions about distributed ledger (and Bitcoin) security
[7]Tencent's WeChat wants no more talk of cryptocurrency and NFTs
The report also notes that, historically, private currencies have not ended well.
"They create parallel currency system(s), which can undermine sovereign control over money supply, interest rates and macroeconomic stability," the report argues, adding "For developing economies, cryptocurrencies can erode capital account regulation, which can weaken exchange rate management."
[8]
The report also warns that FinTech companies pose various risks, and that powerful, cashed-up tech companies may make matters worse.
"BigTechs can scale up rapidly and pose risk to financial stability, which can arise from increased disintermediation of incumbent institutions," the document asserts.
"Moreover, complex intertwined operational linkages between BigTech firms and financial institutions could lead to concentration and contagion risks and issues relating to potential anti-competitive behaviour."
BigTechs can scale up rapidly and pose risk to financial stability
The document also weighs central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and notes that while they'll be considered a digital alternative to cash and individuals may have stored balances of the currencies, current thinking is that such deposits won't attract interest payments. That's of concern, the report states, because shifting money out of banks and into government-run CBDC wallets "could potentially decrease credit availability or increase credit costs."
India plans its own CBDC and wants it to [9]become the heart of a global digital payment scheme . The nation has also [10]introduced a hefty 30 percent tax on cryptocurrency income – a rate double the nation's capital gains tax – and taxes crypto transactions at one percent of value.
[11]
The Reserve Bank's report comes hot on the heels of China's state-sponsored blockchain boosters labelling cryptocurrency a [12]Ponzi scheme , and Singaporean authorities [13]warning crypto cowboys they'll be run out of town if they misbehave. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationReportDetails.aspx?UrlPage=&ID=1203
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Yr5xZAtztNB9CyW0M3uxDwAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yr5xZAtztNB9CyW0M3uxDwAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yr5xZAtztNB9CyW0M3uxDwAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/30/intel_ships_cryptomining_asic_at/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/22/research_challenges_assumptions_about_distributed/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/22/tencet_/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yr5xZAtztNB9CyW0M3uxDwAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/04/india_digital_payments/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/02/india_budget_2022/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yr5xZAtztNB9CyW0M3uxDwAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/28/execs_of_chinesestate_sponsored_blockchain/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/27/singapore_cbdc_crypto_policy/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Its fraud.
There's no value there.
* All of them inflate, new tokens are mined, and there is an infinite number of new crypto variants continually made. They are NOT an inflation hedge.
* None of them have sovereign backing, so none of them are backed by the borrowed future labor of a country.
* Any claimed benefits like "privacy" are bullshit, the blockchain records everything.
* Claims that governments cannot block transactions, again bullshit, the exchanges are trivial to block.
* Cheap to transact? No, gas fees are big fees.
* None of the variously claimed "values" for crypto are real.
Nor is the price real.
Just because "someone" buys 1 token at $1 million, does not make the 1000 tokens in existence worth $1 billion. Nor when they mine the next 1000 does it make it double in value to $2 billion. That's just the bait to lure in the punters.
So you get punters to buy 10 tokens for $10 million and they, the conmen can cash out at a huge profit. Their $1 million investment returns $10 million. The price drops, but not to zero, crypto con men have no incentive to dump all the crypto. He's well into profit, he can use some of his $10 million to buy some more. Perhaps buy another 1 token, this time at $8 million, why not, he's still doubled his money, there are few sellers and he's most of them. Wow, now his crypto number pool is worth $16 billion!
$16 billion, yet only $10 million of actual punter money. And his punters think they're holding an asset worth $80 million. They think their 10 million has multiplied to 80 million! Look at how quickly they got rich. They'll tell all their friends.
His sockpuppets scream: "Punters, get into my crypto quick and buy in early to get rich! Look at how this token went from $1 billion to $16 billion!". So more suckers come along and buy 10 tokens at $100 million. Now our conman has yacht money.
Yet there is nothing of actual value there, the money has gone, he's bought a mega yacht. All that is left is his collection of magic numbers. But heck, they're buying $100 million of a $20 billion "asset", so its not like all of that $20 billion could just disappear overnight?! Right??? As I said there is NOTHING THERE, right? There must be *something* there if it has a $20 billion value right? No, nothing.
You need fake third party confirmation of "value", nobody will simply believe that a magic number system is worth $20 billion. Especially if the conman himself is the buyer. So they buy and sell each others "assets" it's not the conman buying his own assets, its a disguised chain of multiple crypto, 'stablecoins', NFT's all the same shit from the same group of conmen, but now you have long chains of obsfucated shit. Cycling around to hide the true nature of the transaction.
And third party miners, mining the coins, these are not actual buyers, but in a sense they've "bought" into the con..... if all these miners believe its worth it, surely there must be something in these magic number systems???? It provides further fake third party confirmation. You can even charge these miners real money to register their new coins, and claim that as asset backing to your coin (they do this in stable coins). Once you've done that, take the real money and swap it for other fake crypto assets and you can extract that money too!
None of it is has any value behind it. Just a few suckers buying in thinking there are lots of suckers already in, dumber than they are. You can see who and how people get rich off crypto, and why the "value" can be $20 billion one second and worthless the next.
You can also see why it was not prosecuted. The conmen have the real money and the victims have worthless magic numbers, one can be donated to PAC and one cannot.