Christine Lagarde calls cryptocurrencies speculative assets and calls for strict regulation of stablecoins.
The head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, in an interview with Bloomberg, called cryptocurrencies speculative assets and questioned their belonging to real currencies.
Lagarde called for distinguishing between different types of cryptoassets and cited stablecoins as an example. According to the head of the ECB, stable digital coins should be strictly regulated by supervisory authorities.
"Cryptocurrencies are not currencies. Full stop," says ECB President Christine Lagarde https://t.co/3IlucjqEf0 pic.twitter.com/cHhOQUkTOG
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) September 16, 2021
“Cryptocurrencies are not currencies. Point, ”Lagarde said.
A stablecoin is a digital coin whose value is tied to a specific physical asset. The first such coin, Tether’s USDT, appeared in 2015. It is pegged to the value of the US dollar in a 1: 1 ratio.
At the beginning of this year, Lagarde already called bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies “highly speculative assets.” Then the head of the ECB emphasized that digital assets need regulation, since they can be used for money laundering.
In June, European Central Bank executive board member Fabio Panetta called cryptoassets, including bitcoin, “dangerous beasts.”
According to the Italian economist, cryptocurrencies are largely used “for criminal activity” and also consume “a huge amount of energy.”
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