Bankers such as Jamie Dimon, Sergio Ermotti, and Tidjane Thiam have criticized skyrocketing cryptocurrencies. A former colleague warns of a «choir or ignoramuses».
It will surprise few that former Oswald Gruebel, former boss of both Credit Suisse and UBS, dropped this pithy quote. The former bond trader stepped down as CEO of Switzerland's largest bank in 2011, and has since periodically commented on market developments.
Now, Gruebel appears to chide crpyto skeptics: «In any case, one should not simply join in the choir of ignoramuses and write off bitcoin as purely a bubble,» he told «Zentralschweiz am Sonntag» (behind paywall, in German) in an interview.
Millennials' Gold
The token's rise underscores the fact that many citizens no longer trust traditional money and central banks: «They would rather hoard their small fortunes in bitcoin than US dollars, euros, or Swiss francs.»
Gruebel equated bitcoin to the gold's status as a safe harbor for investors «Bitcoin may be gold for the younger, globally active generation,» he said.
The former banking heavyweight has been critical of the transparency generated by emerging crypto technologies, but doesn't see bitcoin's opaqueness as a disadvantage.
Substitute for Secrecy?
The currency could eventually replace banking secrecy, which Switzerland abandoned under hefty pressure from the U.S. and other nations.
«Ever since we don't have banking secrecy anymore, and our banks exchange client data with more than 100 countries, many people are looking for alternative asset classes for funds not immediately needed,» said Gruebel.
He also says that despite huge price swings, bitcoin has been a better investment than savings deposits at zero interest – «and this is likely to be the case in the future as well.»
