Central banks must clamp down on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to stop them “piggybacking” on mainstream institutions and becoming a “threat to financial stability”, the head of the Bank for International Settlements has warned.

國際清算銀行(Bank for International Settlements)總裁奧古斯丁?卡斯滕斯(Agustín Carstens)警告稱，各國央行必須打擊比特幣和其他加密數字貨幣，阻止它們“依附”主流機構，成為“金融穩定的威脅”。

Agustín Carstens, general manager of the BIS — known as the bank for central banks because it is where they hold accounts — condemned bitcoin as “a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster”.

國際清算銀行有“央行的央行”之稱，因為各國央行在這里設立賬戶。卡斯滕斯指責比特幣是“泡沫、龐氏騙局(Ponzi)和環境災難的組合”。

His comments came as growing signs of a backlash against cryptocurrencies by mainstream financial institutions contributed to another steep fall in the price of bitcoin, which means it has lost almost two-thirds of its market value in a month.

此際，越來越多的跡象表明，主流金融機構對加密貨幣的抵觸造成比特幣價格又一次大幅下挫，使比特幣市值在一個月內就蒸發近三分之二。

“To date, many judge that, given cryptocurrencies’ small size and limited interconnectedness, concerns about them do not rise to a systemic level,” Mr Carsten said in a speech at Goethe University in Germany yesterday.

卡斯滕斯昨日在德國歌德大學(Goethe University)的一次演講中表示：“到目前為止，很多人判斷，鑒于加密貨幣規模小且相互關聯性有限，對它們的擔憂沒有上升到系統水平。”

“But if authorities do not act pre-emptively, cryptocurrencies could become more interconnected with the main financial system and become a threat to financial stability.”

“然而，如果政府不先發制人，加密貨幣與主要金融系統的關聯性可能會增強，并成為金融穩定的威脅。”

Cryptocurrencies exploded in number and value in 2024, hitting a combined market capitalisation of $830bn in early January before a sell-off took nearly 70 per cent off that value.

去年，加密貨幣在數量和價值方面出現爆炸性增長，今年1月初，總計市值達到8300億美元，之后的一場拋售導致近70%的市值蒸發。

But most banks refuse to touch cryptocurrencies, which raise anti-money laundering concerns because of their anonymity.

但多數銀行拒絕觸及加密貨幣，因為其匿名性引發反洗錢擔憂。

UK lenders have even declined to provide mortgages to people who have funded their deposit by selling cryptocurrencies, which means their money cannot be traced. Many US and UK banks have also blocked customers from buying cryptocurrencies using their credit cards.

英國貸款機構甚至拒絕向通過出售加密貨幣來存款的人提供抵押貸款，因為這意味著他們的錢不能被追查。許多美國和英國的銀行也阻止客戶使用信用卡購買加密貨幣。

Central banks must clamp down on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to stop them “piggybacking” on mainstream institutions and becoming a “threat to financial stability”, the head of the Bank for International Settlements has warned.

國際清算銀行(Bank for International Settlements)總裁奧古斯丁?卡斯滕斯(Agustín Carstens)警告稱，各國央行必須打擊比特幣和其他加密數字貨幣，阻止它們“依附”主流機構，成為“金融穩定的威脅”。

Agustín Carstens, general manager of the BIS — known as the bank for central banks because it is where they hold accounts — condemned bitcoin as “a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster”.

國際清算銀行有“央行的央行”之稱，因為各國央行在這里設立賬戶。卡斯滕斯指責比特幣是“泡沫、龐氏騙局(Ponzi)和環境災難的組合”。

His comments came as growing signs of a backlash against cryptocurrencies by mainstream financial institutions contributed to another steep fall in the price of bitcoin, which means it has lost almost two-thirds of its market value in a month.

此際，越來越多的跡象表明，主流金融機構對加密貨幣的抵觸造成比特幣價格又一次大幅下挫，使比特幣市值在一個月內就蒸發近三分之二。

“To date, many judge that, given cryptocurrencies’ small size and limited interconnectedness, concerns about them do not rise to a systemic level,” Mr Carsten said in a speech at Goethe University in Germany yesterday.

卡斯滕斯昨日在德國歌德大學(Goethe University)的一次演講中表示：“到目前為止，很多人判斷，鑒于加密貨幣規模小且相互關聯性有限，對它們的擔憂沒有上升到系統水平。”

“But if authorities do not act pre-emptively, cryptocurrencies could become more interconnected with the main financial system and become a threat to financial stability.”

“然而，如果政府不先發制人，加密貨幣與主要金融系統的關聯性可能會增強，并成為金融穩定的威脅。”

Cryptocurrencies exploded in number and value in 2024, hitting a combined market capitalisation of $830bn in early January before a sell-off took nearly 70 per cent off that value.

去年，加密貨幣在數量和價值方面出現爆炸性增長，今年1月初，總計市值達到8300億美元，之后的一場拋售導致近70%的市值蒸發。

But most banks refuse to touch cryptocurrencies, which raise anti-money laundering concerns because of their anonymity.

但多數銀行拒絕觸及加密貨幣，因為其匿名性引發反洗錢擔憂。

UK lenders have even declined to provide mortgages to people who have funded their deposit by selling cryptocurrencies, which means their money cannot be traced. Many US and UK banks have also blocked customers from buying cryptocurrencies using their credit cards.

英國貸款機構甚至拒絕向通過出售加密貨幣來存款的人提供抵押貸款，因為這意味著他們的錢不能被追查。許多美國和英國的銀行也阻止客戶使用信用卡購買加密貨幣。