Top Banker Calls Bitcoin a 'Ponzi Scheme'

Bitcoin has been taking a beating in recent days along with more traditional investments. The cryptocurrency, which has been sliding downhill since peaking above $19,000 in December, dipped below $6,000 early Tuesday for the first time since October, though it later recovered to around $6,500, Bloomberg reports. Other cryptocurrencies have also fallen, wiping a total of more than $500 billion off their market value so far this year. And more sell-offs are expected, the Guardian reports. Agustin Carstens, chief of the Bank of International Settlements, which represents the world's central banks, warned in a lecture Tuesday that cryptocurrencies have become a combination of "a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster." He said there is a "strong case for policy intervention," because authorities have a "duty to educate and protect investors and consumers." (More bitcoin stories.)