As the price of Bitcoin passes US$17,000 the Reserve Bank of Australia has issued a significant warning.

RBA Governor Philip Lowe says, “the current fascination with these currencies feels more like a speculative mania than to do with their use as an efficient and convenient form of electronic payment”.

New Zealand’s Reserve Bank Acting Governor Graeme Spencer says, “it looks remarkably like a bubble forming to me”.

Ross Greenwood speaks to payments expert, Adjunct Professor Steve Worthington.

“I think they’re a bit of a pyramid scheme really. Those who get out at the top do well at the expense of the latecomers who buy in at the top and bow out at the bottom.”

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