Crypto is Very Dangerous, Says Anne Boden of Starling Bank

While a number of executives in charge of fintech unicorns are gradually seeing crypto as a space they need to embrace, Anne Boden, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of UK-based financial institution, Starling Bank said cryptocurrencies are “very dangerous” to the existing financial infrastructure.

Boden made this comment at the Money 20/20 fintech conference in Amsterdam earlier this week, noting that the majority of cryptocurrency transactions are often connected to legacy banks or fintech firms, a link that threatens the financial status quo.

“A lot of [crypto] wallets are being connected directly to payment schemes,” Boden said. “This is a threat to the safety of our payment schemes around the world.”

Boden is a known critic of the cryptocurrency ecosystem and always warns investors about the dangers inherent in investing their capital in crypto schemes for fear of being defrauded.

“Customers are being scammed,” the Starling chief said. “We’re spending far more of our time protecting customers from the scammers than we are trying to promote crypto.”

When asked if Starling bank is going to be integrating cryptocurrencies anytime soon, Boden said the changes over the next couple of years are very slim as crypto-linked firms still have a long way to go when it comes to implementing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks.

While Starling Bank, valued at about £2.5 billion ($3.1 billion) is not so bullish on crypto, other globally acclaimed challenger banks like Revolut and Nubank are divergent in both their views and approaches. As reported earlier by Blockchain.News, Nubank has embraced cryptocurrencies fully and has now integrated the new asset class into its app for all users.

Other renowned investing apps, including SoFi, and Robinhood are also big on digital currencies which now form a very crucial aspect of their investment portfolios.

Image source: Shutterstock