Bank of International Settlements Cautions Investors On Bitcoin

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has cautioned investors and traders, in another swipe against Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, that they could realize huge losses from their investments on private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Following the report Bitcoin plunged 2.3% to record a low of $3,569 at the time of writing this article.

BIS, which also serves as a lender to central banks, discovered that most countries around the world regard Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a fairly niche technology and not the possible future of money that many crypto enthusiasts firmly believe to be.

The BIS report, published last week states “No central banks reported any significant or wider public use of cryptocurrencies for either domestic or cross-border payments in their jurisdictions. Usage of cryptocurrencies is assessed to be either minimal (‘trivial/no use’) or concentrated in niche groups.”

The survey suggests that most central banks in BIS genuinely believe that the use of cryptocurrencies “will remain minor.” due to “low retail acceptance, compliance issues, better public understanding by the general public of the risks involved and, for some jurisdictions, outright bans.”

Many people believe that the next Bitcoin bull run will be triggered by an increase in the day-to-day use of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin in particular by the general public, although the number of merchants who accept cryptocurrencies in both developed and developing economies remains low as of now.

Last month, Changpeng Zhao, Chief Executive Officer of Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance, said he anticipates the online retail giant Amazon of Jeff Bezo to be the driving factor for the next Bitcoin price hike.

The BIS survey, which involved 63 central banks across the world, also discovered that most of the banks do not intend to issue a crypto version of their currency, known as CBDCs.

The BIS report further stated “At this stage, most central banks appear to have clarified the challenges of launching a CBDC but they are not yet convinced that the benefits will outweigh the costs.”

However, there have been cues that a rise in Bitcoin adoption and use could happen soon.

Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at broker eToro, said “Bitcoin’s blockchain is heating up rapidly. The [bitcoin] transaction rate hitting its highest level in almost a year.”

Greenspan continued saying “During the bear market, however, developers have had more time to upgrade their systems. Specifically, we now see the adoption of SegWit, which reduces the size of transactions on the blockchain, is now about 40%.”