According to the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), counterfeit bitcoin scams have amounted to more than 31 million euros since the beginning of the year. The opinion of Pierre Noizat, President and co-founder of Paymium.
Does the rise of Bitcoin scams have a repulsive effect on investors?
Pierre Noizat: Yes, but it is a deliberate strategy of central banks that want to delay the adoption of cryptomonnaies. Bitcoin scams suggest that this is a security issue. However, there has never been a security problem on Bitcoin because it is a model based on a tamper-proof electronic signature. There are errors of judgment, yes, but it has nothing to do with technology. The bitcoin user must find out what to do or not to do. This is increasingly true in a digital world: we must be trained, for example, in the notion of electronic signatures. The handwritten signature is totally unsuitable for today's world, it can easily be falsified. Everyone needs to think about new payment methods. We are at the very beginning of the phenomenon, and Bitcoin is part of the digital transition. You have to go with him.
Is regulation therefore expected by the markets?
The regulation is on. Members of Parliament have taken it over in the National Assembly, and there is an interesting approach by the AMF. Resistance comes from the central bank, while other actors and even politicians, who have understood the economic interest, are moving in the direction of regulation. The AMF's certification and the implementation of a tax system in the Pact law are first steps. We must stop the anxiety-inducing discourse: if the authorities concerned do not promote honest actors, they risk favouring unscrupulous platforms. Customers will be deceived because they will not know where to go. There have always been financial scams, Bitcoin is just another story. I'm not sure it creates an additional problem.
What is the risk of investing in cryptomones?
Anyone can invest in Bitcoin, but it's a matter of taste or risk aversion. Everyone has a different risk relationship. Those who are more comfortable in digital technology will be able to invest part of their savings in cryptomones, and it all depends on the quantity. It is also possible to use cryptomones for small transactions, without investing, in order to appropriate the technology. There is no greater risk of investing in Bitcoin than in technology or biotech stocks on the stock exchange. Bitcoin is not unique compared to other innovations. As with artificial intelligence, we do not know which society will take off or not. You have to make your own bets. This is a risk inherent in innovation.