Slovenian central bank warns of crypto currency trading risks

LJUBLJANA, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Slovenian central bank on Thursday warned that trading in crypto currencies such as Bitcoin was risky and said it could eventually have an impact on financial stability.

Crypto currency trading "could have an impact on financial stability in terms of the scope of investments. This is not yet the case, but it could be in the future", Simon Anko, director of payment systems at the central bank, was quoted as saying by Slovenian Press Agency STA.

"We are concerned about investors, especially retail investors, and we don't want a situation where a lot of people end up with huge problems," he said at a special press briefing on crypto currencies.

The central bank has not revealed data on the current scope of crypto currency investments in Slovenia, but anecdotal evidence suggests it is "significant".

Jure Pirc, the president of the Bitcoin Association of Slovenia, recently claimed that there were over 30,000 users of crypto currency in Slovenia, a figure that includes traders as well as those who mine crypto currency.

Many consumers have invested a significant share of their assets into crypto currencies, which are completely unregulated and not guaranteed, Anko said.

There is movement at the EU level to regulate crypto currency exchanges as part of the framework for the prevention of money laundering, and a comprehensive legislative framework is being mulled upon.

According to Anko, Slovenia is waiting for the issue to be cleared up at EU level. He said the European Central Bank was debating regulation but it was unlikely there would be major progress achieved this year. Enditem