With bitcoin smashing through the $8,000 level for the first time this week after a 50 percent climb in eight days, Central bankers are worried they will be blamed if the market crashes.
Central bankers say the success of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is just a bubble. But it keeps them awake at night because these private currencies threaten their control of the banking system and money supply, which could undermine the monetary policies they use to manage inflation. With bitcoin smashing through the $8,000 level for the first time this week after a 50 percent climb in eight days, they are also worried they will be blamed if the market crashes. This is why several central banks are advocating regulations to impose control. Others are even looking at whether to introduce their own digital currency and are testing payment platforms.
The issue of control is that they can't regulate BitCoin itself (yet), they can only regulate their own involvement with it. They're not investing in a product or business, they're just buying or selling.