In 2018, central banks will hold cryptocurrencies, alongside gold and foreign currencies, according to Blockchain.info CEO Peter Smith.

Speaking in a short interview on CNBC's Coin Rush segment, Smith predicts that next year would see the first incorporation of crypto into traditional financial institutions, saying:

"I think this year It will be the first year that we are starting to see central banks start to hold digital currencies as part of their balance sheet."

]

2018 will be the year Central banks hold digital currencies: Blockchain CEO of CNBC

The rapid rise of Bitcoin this year, from $ 1,000 in January to 20 $ 000 this week, has attracted the attention of banks, governments and regulators around the world. In some markets, banks have adopted diverging and sometimes polarizing views on the future of cryptocurrency.

While Shinhan announced that she would become the first major bank to offer Bitcoin portfolios to clients, the governor of Denmark's central bank. this week described Bitcoin as "deadly" and urged citizens to stay away from this. As Smith pointed out, central banks would likely start issuing their own digital assets "either by the end of the year or early next year". Several governments, including Russia, are planning to issue a national digital currency, and Dubai has already officially decided to do so.

In the interview, questioned about the likelihood of a "major hacking" in the crypto space in the future, Smith said that for about five months since the last major hacking, the ecosystem was "expected for one in the next month or two months". Speaking of his own company, he told CNBC: