Quick take:
- European Central Bank President, Christine Lagarde, has said cryptocurrencies are worth nothing and based on nothing.
- She added that cryptocurrencies do not have an underlying asset to act as an anchor of safety.
- ECB President Lagarde said that a digital Euro would be a better store of value than cryptocurrencies.
- The EU Commission on a digital euro (CBDC) is still accepting consultations from experts on the topic.
Christine Lagarde, the European Central Bank President, has said that cryptocurrencies are based on nothing and should be regulated to protect people from the possibility of speculating over them with their life savings.
Ms. Lagarde made the comments during a Dutch television discussion where she also added that digital assets are not backed by anything as an anchor. Her exact statements on cryptocurrencies were as follows:
[I’m concerned about people] who have no understanding of the risks, who will lose it all and who will be terribly disappointed, which is why I believe that that should be regulated.
My very humble assessment is that it is worth nothing, it is based on nothing, there is no underlying asset to act as an anchor of safety.
A Digital Euro Would be a Safer Bet
Ms. Lagarde also admitted that she does not hold any cryptocurrencies because she wants to practice what she preaches. She, however, was optimistic about the prospects of a Digital Euro being a safer alternative. She said:
The day when we have the central bank digital currency out, any digital euro, I will guarantee — so the central bank will behind it and I think it’s vastly different than many of those things.
EU Commission on a Digital Euro Is Still Accepting Comments from Experts on the Topic
Concerning the feasibility of a Digital Euro, the EU Commission on a Central Bank Digital Currency within the region is still accepting comments from industry experts on the topic.
Patrick Hansen highlighted this fact through the following Tweet. Mr. Hansen is a crypto venture advisor at Presight Capital and has on numerous occasions provided valuable insights on the status of digital asset regulation in Europe.
If you don’t share Christine Lagarde’s opinion that the digital euro is the way forward, you still have three weeks to raise your concerns in the EU commission CBDC consultation – deadline June 14. https://t.co/p5eMF5ySo5
— Patrick Hansen (@paddi_hansen) May 22, 2022
The deadline to submit statements on the topic of a Digital Euro is June 14th, and the following individuals and entities are encouraged to submit their opinion on the matter.
Payment industry specialists, payment service providers (including credit institutions, payment and e-money institutions), payment infrastructure providers, developers of payment solutions, merchants, merchant associations, consumer associations, retail payments regulators, and supervisors, anti-money laundering (AML) supervisors, Financial Intelligence Units, and other relevant authorities and experts.
Concerning the object of the consultation for a digital euro, the EU Commission tasked with the process explains that it is meant to ‘ to collect further information on expected impacts on key industries (financial intermediation, payment services, merchants), users (consumer associations, retailers’ associations), chambers of commerce and other stakeholders in international trade.’
