Bitcoin Investors May Lose Everything, Central Banker Warns

Peter Flanagan and Francine Lacqua, Bloomberg News

Cryptocurrency mining rigs sit on racks at a Bitfarms facility in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, on Thursday, July 26, 2018. Bitcoin has rallied more than 30 percent in July, shrugging off security and regulatory concerns that have plagued the virtual currency for much of this year. Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin investors need to be prepared to “lose all their money,” European Central Bank governing council member Gabriel Makhlouf said, the latest warning from a central banker on the cryptocurrency.

“Personally, I’m not sure why people invest in those sorts of assets, but they see them as assets clearly,” Makhlouf, who is also governor of Ireland’s central bank, told Bloomberg TV on Friday. “Our role is to make sure that consumers are protected.”

Makhlouf’s comments echo skepticism from ECB leaders. The cryptocurrency is a “highly speculative asset,” President Christine Lagarde said this month. Bitcoin prices have more than doubled since November and topped $40,000 earlier this month. Large movements in its value are common, with four daily swings of more than 5% in the past nine days.

On Friday, Bitcoin rallied above $35,000, with brokers attributing the move to Elon Musk mentioning the cryptocurrency in his bio page on Twitter.

Bitcoin Jumps Above $35,000 as Musk Puts It Into Twitter Profile

Still, Makhlouf doesn’t see “financial stability issues at the moment arising from Bitcoin itself.”

“I worry more about about consumers making the right choices,” he said.