Following the soaring course of Bitcoin, which has appreciated more than 1000% since the beginning of the year, the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) and the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR) have jointly issued a statement yesterday warning investors against "the risks associated with investing in these speculative assets"
They explain that Bitcoins would sometimes be mistaken for virtual "currencies" or "cryptocurrencies".
Such a speech echoes that of the Governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau, who said a few days ago that it was "in no case a currency, or even a cryptocurrency." He said that "the value and extreme volatility of Bitcoin [had] no economic fundamentals," and said that his institution was anxious to remind "those who invest in Bitcoin that they do it at their own expense. risks and perils. "
"Very high risk of loss"
Logo AMF and ACPRLAMF and the ACPR have indicated through this press release that the valuation of Bitcoin could, so far, "grow suddenly", but that it could "as well collapse in the same way . "
The two regulators also insist that the "buy / sell and investment in Bitcoins are currently carried out outside any regulated market," and warn:
"Investors are therefore exposed to very high risk of loss in the event of a downward correction and do not benefit from any guarantee or protection of the invested capital."
The mission of the AMF is to ensure the protection of savings invested in financial instruments, investor information and the smooth functioning of markets. She is often presented as "the policeman of the stock market". For its part, the ACPR is responsible in France for supervising the activities of banks and insurance companies.
The two institutions explained that these "crypto-assets" did not come "within the scope of direct supervision of the AMF," and that "they [could] not be described as currencies", nor "... be considered as means of payment in the legal sense of the term. "
While the AMF and the ACPR seem to want to discourage savers from investing in cryptocurrencies, they have been more supportive of Blockchain technology, which is based on the Bitcoin protocol. This would be "likely to offer many opportunities in terms of business use," and it would thus participate "in the development of innovation."
They concluded by calling for "utmost vigilance":
However, in the particular case of "crypto" assets based on the blockchain, and given their technical characteristics, their high volatility and in the absence of specific regulations, the AMF and the ACPR recommend that savers be very vigilant before considering investing some of their savings.
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