Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey openly criticized Bitcoin and a number of other cryptocurrencies in a new speech at Mansion House in London. In his latest statements, Bailey reiterated his stance on cryptocurrencies, calling Bitcoin and similar “highly speculative assets.”

Bailey, who had previously expressed concerns about the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies, stated that Bitcoin "has no real value and is extremely volatile." He also emphasized that cryptocurrencies such as #Bitcoin ( #btc ) “should be considered highly speculative investments.”

The claim that stablecoins are not safe

Bailey also stated that stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) are “untrustworthy.” The President said, “Stablecoins do not meet the standards that safe money in the financial system must meet. “These are not money.” said.

Saying that the bankruptcy of several banks in the USA and Switzerland and its consequences raised questions about the 'unity' of money, Bailey reminded the collapse of Terra's algorithmic stablecoin called TerraUSD (UST) and wiped out billions of dollars from the crypto market.

Bank of England's CBDC move

Last month, the BoE and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) completed a year-long study on central bank digital currency (CBDC) payments called “Project Rosalind.” “From the Bank of England's perspective, our main motivation for a retail CBDC will be to promote the uniqueness of money by ensuring that the public always has the option of switching to fully functional central bank money,” Bailey said. he said.

Bailey noted that the bank's work on retail CBDC does not affect its commitment to issuing physical cash. “Cash will continue to exist,” he said. Additionally, Tom Mutton, head of the BoE's CBDC project, stated in an interview that the central bank is still evaluating what technology will support its CBDC.

“We will make proposals to regulate stablecoins”

Bailey noted that the BoE has received proposals to create a 'digital pound' in the form of stablecoins issued by banks or non-bank entities. “We will shortly be making proposals to regulate systemic stablecoins based on the powers in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023,” the BoE Governor said. he said.