Royal Bank of Canada CEO Thinks Bitcoin is Not a Fraud, But Has Issues

David McKay, the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Bank of Canada, has issues with Bitcoin, but does not believe it’s a fraud.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg last week, the bank head shared his take on the world’s leading cryptocurrency, saying:

“I would never call it a fraud because it’s not misrepresenting what it is. People have placed value on what it is in different ways — and they’re fine to do that — but it’s not fraudulent in its misrepresentation.”

These comments are in stark comparison to the vicious criticism JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, laid on Bitcoin last month, calling it a “fraud”.

That being said, David McKay is not confident about Bitcoin being used as a currency, an opinion shared by other bankers and financial executives as well, including hedge fund honcho Ray Dalio and UBS chairman Axel Weber.

The RBC CEO also shared his concerns about the way Bitcoin is being used, saying:

“There’s so many elements of a bitcoin that don’t convene to our current perspective on what a unit of currency should do. There are some real concerns about how the bitcoin is being used that we have to resolve.”

Earlier, we reported Citigroup CEO, Michael Corbat also expressing similar views:

“And if you actually look at some of the primary uses of bitcoin, it’s tax evasion, it’s money laundering. So again, I’m not dismissive of it at all, but as a prolific currency, I don’t see that in today’s form.”

While Bitcoin has been taking criticism from financial executives, everyone has been praising the underlying framework – the blockchain technology that powers it.

Whether it is Jamie Dimon, David McKay or Michael Corbat, we have seen support for the implementation of blockchain tech for financial solutions.

Last week we reported a recent initiative by JPMorgan, which partnered up with the Royal Bank of Canada and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group to launch their Interbank Information Network (IIN).

The network, powered by blockchain technology, is aimed at speeding up payment processing and clearing among member banks as well as improving security.

Speaking on this development, David McKay said:

“We’re on a journey to look at the strengths and weaknesses, the security protocols. You’ve got three banks that are off the ground and running in cross-border payments, so you’ve got to test it with partners and we certainly want to be part of that.”