Bitcoin dives another 15pc

SPECULATORS around the world dumped bitcoin yesterday as a leading central banker condemned it as no better than a Ponzi scheme.

The digital currency slumped as much as 15pc to lows of $7,500 – down from nearly $20,000 at its peak just before Christmas.

And a senior official at the Bank for International Settlements – dubbed the central bank for central banks – warned a crackdown on bitcoin is overdue.

General manger Agustin Carstens said: ‘It has become a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster. The volatility of bitcoin renders it a poor means of payment.’ Carstens added its limitations were shown by the fact that one major conference on online currencies only accepted conventional money for registration payments because bitcoin is too costly and slow. He added: ‘To the extent they are used, bitcoins and their cousins seem more attractive to those who want to make transactions in the black or illegal economy, rather than everyday transactions.

‘The current fascination with these crypto-currencies seems to have more to do with a speculative mania than any use as a form of electronic payment, except for illegal activities,’ Carstens said.

Despite concerns about digital money, some still see it as a way to make profits. Underwear tycoon Baroness Mone and her boyfriend Doug Barrowman today launch an investment company called Equi which allows punters to back start-ups using a bitcoin rival, ethereum.