The President of the European Central Bank (ECB) – Christine Lagarde – reiterated her negative stance on cryptocurrencies, claiming they are “based on nothing” and should be strictly regulated. Nonetheless, she revealed that one of her sons had distributed some of his wealth into the digital asset market.
Diving Into Crypto Despite Mom’s Advice
Numerous central bankers have criticized the cryptocurrency sector over the past few years. The French politician and the ECB’s President – Christine Lagarde – is undoubtedly part of that club.
In a recent interview, she opined that digital assets are “worth nothing” and are “based on nothing.” She further argued that investing in bitcoin and the altcoins could leave people “terribly disappointed” since the industry lacks proper rules.
Unsurprisingly, Lagarde admitted not owning any cryptocurrencies, explaining, “I want to practice what I preach.” However, it seems that her advice did not stop one of her two sons from diversifying his portfolio with digital assets. “He’s a free man,” she stated.
And while the politician remains skeptical of crypto, this is not the case for CBDCs. She said the ECB has plans to introduce a digital euro in the next four years as it will be a much different product than bitcoin:
“The day when we have the central bank digital currency out, any digital euro, I will guarantee – so the central bank will be behind it, and I think it’s vastly different than many of those things.”
Lagarde’s Previous Statements
In January 2021, the ECB’s President claimed that bitcoin is a “highly speculative asset” which could be employed in criminal activities. As such, it needs to operate under a strict regulatory framework.
A month later, she doubled down on her viewpoint, predicting there is no future for the leading digital asset. Lagarde also believes it is “highly unlikely” that central banks will ever hold cryptocurrencies.
The French politician touched upon the topic once again shortly after Vladimir Putin declared his “special military operation” in Ukraine this February. She urged for regulations on the crypto industry as otherwise, Russia could evade the financial sanctions imposed by the EU and the USA.
It is worth noting, though, that employing digital assets to bypass monetary penalties is not an appropriate method because of their underlying blockchain technology. Binance’s CEO – Changpeng Zhao – explained in detail:
“If you look at the data, nobody smart does that. Crypto is too traceable, the governments around the world are increasingly very good at tracking crypto transactions. So crypto is not good for that.”
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