The Chairman of the Federal Department of Financial Supervision of Germany (Bafin) Mark Branson said that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have no internal value, and investors, especially small retails, risk large financial losses.

Despite the fact that investors have an easier access to bitcoin through traditional financial instruments – exchanges tied to cryptocurrency (ETF) – this does not make investments in Bitcoin with reasonable investments, Branson said.

Branson compared the crypto assets with the casino and gambling, where you can always be losing. In his opinion, the strong volatility of cryptocurrencies, when Bitcoin can fall on several thousand dollars in a day, is incompatible with serious capital management. Cryptocurrencies have no economic value in comparison with shares and government bonds, the official said.

The head of Bafin has long been distrustful of digital assets. Branson is convinced that most of the transactions with bitcoins are made in a darknet, for the sake of payments to hackers-robbers and other illegal activities. He urged to tighten the regulation of cryptocurrencies in order to prevent frequent cases of fraud. As Branson put it, the regulators should not allow the “uncontrolled expansion of this parallel universe.”

In March, Bafin ordered the sale of the USDE Steblcoin, which was produced by Ethena Labs due to its inconsistency, the law on regulation of cryptocurrencies in the European Union (Mica). The law obliges the suppliers of crypto services in Germany to have a Bafin license, without which you cannot work legally in the country.