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"You should stay away (from bitcoin). It is deadly," central
bank head Lars Rohde said in an interview with state broadcaster
DR published online on Monday.
The comments echoed concerns of a bubble about to burst made by
other market participants and central bankers after the price of
bitcoin rocketed more than 1,800 percent since the start of the
year.
Rohde said that if people decide to ignore his warnings, they
should realize that they are pretty much on their own.
"It is not a regulated market. It is not the responsibility of
the authorities. It is the responsibility of the individual,"
said Rohde.
Emphasizing his point, Rohde told investors not to "come and
complain to us if it goes wrong".
The launch of futures trading in bitcoin has further fueled
debate about the place of the cryptocurrency in the financial
system.
On Sunday, France's finance minister said his country would
propose that the G20 group of major economies discuss regulation
of the bitcoin virtual currency next year.
Decentralized digital currencies like bitcoin are still not
widely accepted, and critics say that the fact that they are
unregulated makes them risky to use.
European Union states and legislators last week agreed stricter
rules to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing on
exchange platforms for bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
"I see bitcoin as tulipmania, which is a bubble that is out of
control," Rohde said, referring to a notorious 17th century
Dutch boom and bust.
Last week, the Danish central bank said that introducing a
digital version of the Danish crown currency would pose risks to
financial stability without improving payment solutions for
Danes.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen/Keith
Weir)
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