SNB's Jordan sees crypto currencies as more of investment than currency

Thomson Reuters

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan is cautious about crypto currencies, saying he sees products like Bitcoin as more of an investment than a currency at present.

"Central banks are working on this [the issue of crypto currencies] very intensively," he told an event in Basel on Thursday. "I would look at them more as an investment than a currency.

"It is important to say it is not question of technology, but a question of who has access to central bank money and in what form. There are up to now many unsolved questions."

Crypto currencies can potentially strongly affect the financial system, he said, and it was very important that central banks looked carefully at the issue.

Earlier, Jordan said the goal of SNB's policy remains to reduce pressure on the Swiss franc and make franc investments less attractive, adding that the franc remained "highly valued" despite a recent weakening of the currency.

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Victoria Bryan)

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