French central Bank alert: Bitcoin, sure, at your own risk

Bitcoin's price has levelled  off at around $9,600 on Friday after the cryptocurrency lost almost $2,000 in less than 24 hours over Wednesday and Thursday. Despite the falls, bitcoin is still trading at almost ten times its value at the start of the year.

And according to the Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Bitcoin is a speculative asset and people who invest in it do so at their own risk.

“We need to be clear: bitcoin is in no way a currency, or even a cryptocurrency,” Villeroy said in remarks made at a conference in Beijing, according to the Bank of France.

“It is a speculative asset. Its value and extreme volatility have no economic basis, and they are nobody’s responsibility. The Bank of France reminds those investing in bitcoin that they do so entirely at their own risk,” he added.