Bitcoin ‘Ponzi’ Concern Sparks Warning From Estonia Bank
The central bank of Estonia, where Swedish banks dominate the lending market, urged consumers to steer clear of Bitcoin and similar virtual currencies, warning such software could prove to be little more than a “Ponzi scheme.”
Bitcoin “is a problematic scheme,” Mihkel Nommela, head of the Estonian central bank’s payment and settlement systems department, said in an e-mailed reply to questions. “All risks are assumed by the user, who has no one to turn to for help.”
Regulators and banks are escalating warnings against Bitcoin, and other digital currencies, amid concern such software lends itself to financial crime. Bitcoin enthusiasts suffered a blow this week when it emerged Charlie Shrem, vice chairman of Bitcoin Foundation, was charged in the U.S. for attempting to sell Bitcoins to narcotics traffickers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-30/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-worry-sparks-estonia-central-bank-caution.html
