Bitcoin more akin to gambling than investing, says BoC governor Poloz
TORONTO — Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz is sounding the alarm on Bitcoin, calling the purchase of the cryptocurrency “closer to gambling than investing.”
In a speech at the Canadian Club Toronto on Thursday, the governor said Bitcoin is not a reliable store of value and does not constitute “money.”
He added that buying the cryptocurrency “means buying risk” and urged those flocking to it to “read the fine print.”
“It is a situation which has the ingredients of something that could be a significant disturbance,” Poloz said to reporters after his speech when asked about Bitcoin’s wider ramifications. “I’m hopeful that the system will treat it cautiously from here.”