Director of Treasury and Financial Markets at CRDB Bank Plc, Mr. Alex Ngusaru.
The director of treasury and financial markets at CRDB Bank Plc, Mr. Alex Ngusaru, told the bank’s shareholders over the weekend that one should think twice before putting investing his/her money into Bitcoins due to their unpredictable trends.
“The decision to invest remains purely on the interested individual.
However, I would advise that you only invest in Bitcoins when you have enough extra income,” he said.
The figures he produced at the seminar, which was conducted prior to the CRDB’s 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM), showed just how speculation is driving the value for Bitcoins. On December 15, 2017, the bitcoin registered its highest value with one bitcoin exchanging at $20,000 (roughly Sh44.4 million).
However, on March 31, 2018, the value fell to $7,000 (Sh159 million). As of Thursday, it had picked to $8,500 ( slightly over Sh190 million).
“Rumours is what makes the value of the bitcoin to rise. This is not the right avenue to invest the money if you don’t have extra cash,” he said. Cryptocurrencies are digital monies that use cryptic algorithms for security and run on a complex code system called blockchain.
Cryptocurrency transactions are generally anonymous and are not subject to any government or central bank regulation. Regulators warn that since cryptocurrencies are not regulated by any central bank, they are a safe haven for money laundering, terrorism financing, tax evasion and fraud.
A number of high-profile bankers have, at different times, warned against investing in cryptocurrencies.
The former Bank of Tanzania Governor, Prof Benno Ndulu, said late last year that Tanzanians involved with cryptocurrencies were doing so at their own risks.
“We have also heard that there are some groups of people in the country engaging in the business, but my message, for now, is that they should understand that they are putting themselves at risk and we can’t help in case anything bad happens,” Prof Ndulu was quoted as saying last year.
Tidjane Thiam, the chief executive officer for Credit Suisse - a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company based in Zürich – said late last year that most banks in the current state of regulation have little or no appetite to get involved in a currency, which has anti-money-laundering challenges.
Thiam added: “From what we can identify, the only reason today to buy or sell bitcoin is to make money, which is the very definition of speculation and the very definition of a bubble.”
The Citizen
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