Calling cryptocurrency “junk”, Mastercard President and CEO Ajay Banga has said an “anonymised” currency that can fluctuate “wildly” does not deserve to be considered as a medium of exchange.
The India-born head of the American multinational financial services corporation voiced concern that 95% of all illegal transactions on the dark web, including child prostitution, drugs, credit card and social security fraud, are paid for using cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency is a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank.
“I think cryptocurrency is junk….The idea of an anonymised currency produced by people who have to mine it, the value of which can fluctuate wildly – that to me is not the way that any medium of exchange deserves to be considered a medium of exchange,” Banga said in New York.
He was responding to questions about cryptocurrency during the ‘New India Lecture’ organized earlier this week at the Indian Consulate under the aegis of Consul General Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty.
The lecture series is organised by the Consulate in partnership with the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).
Leave a Reply