bitcoin supply and requiring miners to solve complicated mathematical problems. these computational tasks are becoming more and more complex in order to make it increasingly difficult to create new bitcoin. in your recently published op - ed for the frankfurter allgemeine sonntagszeitung, you, mr thiele, impressively calculated that a bitcoin transaction consumes – and i quote – as much as 460, 000 times more power than a standard credit transfer. this is precisely why bitcoin mining tends to gravitate towards countries with cheap electricity. but the increased energy consumption does nothing to increase the stability of bitcoin. quite the opposite, in fact : the value of crypto tokens is highly volatile, as we have seen over the past few weeks. indeed, even amid the market turbulence we have experienced recently, bitcoin is currently around six times more volatile than the s & p 500, and 13 times more so than gold. that naturally makes it less than ideal as a means of payment. after all, if you ’ ve got a payment instrument that ’ s soaring in value, you ’ ll want to keep it for yourself, and if its value is plummeting, you ’ ll be hard pressed to find any takers. bitcoin is inefficient, both economically and environmentally. the price of bitcoin is gyrating as much as it is because there ’ s no value basis – unlike, say, a gold coin, crypto tokens have no intrinsic value. nor is there any issuer who uses its assets to guarantee that customers can withdraw their bank deposits in cash on demand, or who stakes its entire reputation on keeping the value of money stable, as is the case with banknotes. in short, crypto tokens are more of a speculative plaything. buy them and you risk losing some, or perhaps even all of your investment. a growing chorus of voices, alarmed by the potential losses associated with digital currency, are calling for crypto tokens to be regulated, if not banned outright. 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches yet potential losses in value alone do not warrant a ban. in the interests of consumer protection, however, i do think that more information needs to be made available for investors. that is why, for instance, germany ’ s financial watchdog bafin has already issued a consumer warning highlighting the risks involved in what are known as initial coin offerings. icos

and services, the malaysian insurance industry has continued to transition towards information technology - driven solutions, as well as, leveraging on more efficient payment and settlement systems such as e - payments. this has significantly enhanced the delivery of personalized and customized insurance solutions, made possible through the utilization of new delivery channels, including those that are internet - based. in the area of general insurance for instance, the successful implementation of e - cover notes for motor insurance policies led to vast improvements in service efficiency, better enforcement of cash - before - cover regulations as well as reduction in premium collection fraud. in the area of capacity building, human capital development is key to the future development and growth of the financial sector. as competition intensifies, the role of human capital in defining the areas of comparative advantage will become more prominent. recognizing these trends, bank negara malaysia launched the international center for leadership in finance ( iclif ) in 2003 to accelerate the development of top management talent for the corporate and financial sector within the asian region. at the management trainee level, the bank has initiated the financial sector talent enrichment programme or in short fstep, a joint collaborative effort undertaken with the industry and training institutes aimed at boosting the supply of well - trained and competent personnel for the financial services industry. this is complemented by the international centre for education in islamic finance ( inceif ) which was established for the purpose of meeting the increased demands of islamic finance professionals as well as conducting research and consultancy in islamic finance. i would very much like to encourage you to take the opportunity of participating in some of these programs. finally, no less important an area for consideration in re - engineering financial sector development, is consumer education and protection. today, we experience growing consumerism as well as changing consumer preferences and expectations in tandem with increased education levels and growing personal wealth. these and other developments collectively reinforce the need for greater financial literacy to ensure the efficient functioning of the financial system. an important aspect of bank negara malaysia's regulatory strategy and approach therefore, has been to ensure that the continued growth of the financial sector is underpinned by fair market practices and conduct. in this regard, initiatives undertaken by bank negara malaysia in the insurance sector have been primarily directed towards enhancing product transparency and disclosure, improving sales practices, raising the bar of professionalism for insurers and intermediaries, as well as strengthening the consumer protection framework. apart from promoting sound and fair market practices, considerable efforts have also been made