The governor of Russia’s central bank says cryptocurrencies are the most dangerous investments

The Central Bank of Russia continues to have a tough stance on cryptocurrency trading despite growing concerns that the country will overlook the digital asset market.

The governor of Russia’s central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, reiterated the bank’s negative stance on cryptocurrencies in a meeting with Komsomolskaya Pravda on Monday, arguing that cryptocurrencies are one of the most dangerous investments today.

Nabiullina mentioned cryptocurrencies in the context of other high-risk investment areas such as the foreign exchange market. “Losing in the foreign exchange market is much easier than winning,” she said, asserting that “speculative crypto assets” are even riskier.

The bank governor said costs in the crypto market are extremely volatile and stated that “losses can be enormous”. She further emphasized that the Central Bank of Russia doesn’t recommend crypto investments to the people:

“Central banks never give investment advice, but in this particular case the bank certainly did not give that advice.”

Nabiullina previously mentioned that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) are “fake money” and shouldn’t be used for charging in Russia. As early as 2017, she clarified the growing international popularity of cryptocurrencies as the “gold rush”.

Connected: Bank of Russia begins testing the electronic ruble in 2022

Despite her skepticism about cryptocurrencies, Nabiullina remains optimistic about the electronic ruble, the Russian central bank’s digital money project. Last year, she stated an electronic ruble would help shut down financial intermediaries.

The Russian central bank’s stance on cryptocurrencies has come under increasing criticism, with a State Duma member accusing the central bank of being short-sighted in the industry. Russian industrial magnate Oleg Deripaska last week criticized the central bank because of its reluctance to recognize cryptocurrencies.