Irish central bank chief calls for ban on crypto advertising

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DUBLIN, Jan 25 (Reuters) – The governor of Ireland’s central bank on Wednesday urged lawmakers to ban the advertising of crypto assets aimed at young adults, equating crypto unlinked to underlying assets with a fraudulent scheme. Ponzi.

Long-time critic of crypto assets, Gabriel Makhlouf said that while they pose minimal risk to financial stability for now, the Irish regulator is very concerned about the impact on retail customers.

“There are a reasonable number of young adults who have put their money into crypto and there is an uncomfortable level of advertising targeting this cohort. If you could find a way, I would recommend that ads for this cohort be banned” , Makhlouf told an Irish parliamentary committee.

“Unbacked crypto is basically a Ponzi scheme…People who invest their money in unbacked crypto, and most of the major crypto stocks out there are unbacked, they’re basically gambling.”

“When you play you can win, but most of the time when you play you actually lose.”

Makhlouf, a board member of the European Central Bank, said recently agreed EU regulations would provide much-needed “guardrails” for stablecoins – a type of crypto designed to retain stable value – but that more regulation would likely be needed in the future.

Reporting by Padraic Halpin; edited by Jonathan Oatis

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