A rumor is circulating that the Fed is concerned Bitcoin will “eviscerate” big banks. Let’s investigate the claim.

Zerohedge writes As Bitcoin Nears $10,000 “Central Banks Kept Up At Night”.

Here is the line that caught my attention: “St. Louis Fed President James Bullard admitted to Reuters in a recent interview what the real concern was: ‘(We could) wake up one day and most of the big banks have been eviscerated and most of that activity has moved elsewhere.‘”

I tracked that that claim back to the Reuters article Bubble or breakthrough? Bitcoin keeps central bankers on edge by Francesco Canepa.

Canepa made the same statement but did not provide a link.

Business Insider Interview

On October 13, Business Insider interviewed Bullard. BI reported The rise of a new kind of finance is setting off alarm bells at the Fed.

The article did not contain the quote.

Also on October 13, TrustNodes reported Digital Currencies Could “Eviscerate” Big Banks Says Fed President.

James Bullard, St. Louis Fed President, is the latest old banker to ring an alarm bell of sorts stating in a fairly emotionally charged use of words that new inventions, such as blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies and ICOs, might “eviscerate” big banks if regulators do not do something about it.

Bullard said regulators, by which perhaps he might mean banks so being from the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed), might: “Wake up one day and most of the big banks have been eviscerated and most of that activity has moved elsewhere.”

TrustNodes linked to BusinessInsider, but as noted above, the BI interview did not contain the quote.

What Did Bullard Really Say?

So far, we have lots of claims (and there are now dozens more quoting ZeroHedge), with still no reference to the true source of the claim.

I found it: On October 12, Reuters reported Fed’s Bullard warns bank regulators are ‘complacent’ over fintech risks.