ECB President Doesn’t Think That Central Banks Will Hold BTC

The ECB President doesn’t think that the central banks will hold BTC in the near future and Christine Lagarde hasn’t really changed her mind about BTC, calling it a highly speculative asset so let’s read further in today’s BTC news.

The ECB president doesn’t think that central banks will hold the currency in the near future but did add that the digital version of the EUR will be ready in four years. Lagarde said that it is “very unlikely” that central banks will hold BTC. She has criticized bitcoin in the past and said that “it’s out of the question” that central banks will hold it soon, according to Business Insider. She added that thanks to the COVID pandemic, the digital euro is a more realistic option and could be ready in a few years.

Lagarde said that a central bank digital currency will complement but not replace the traditional cash options adding that it will also provide an alternative to private digital currencies like ETH and BTC. Lagarde became the ECB president in November 2019 and added that the biggest cryptocurrency is a speculative asset involved in criminal activities and money laundering so there has to be global cooperation to regulate it.  Before that, she said that cryptocurrencies pose risks and BTC doesn’t fulfill all the money functions, and also that stablecoins were a worry.

The president has been quite enthusiastic about a CBDC and said that a digital euro currency will be quite important and will create new jobs. The ECB is now looking into the benefits of these assets and is due to present the findings to the public for feedback. In 2020, the ECB applied a trademark for the term “Digital euro” but the central bank still falls behind countries like China that already piloted a digital version of the yuan.

As recently reported, ECB’s Lagarde opened up a survey and the main question was whether the people that live in the region want a digital euro that doesn’t rely on intermediaries. Christine Lagarde opened up the matter of a digital euro for public consultation. Lagarde who used to run the International Monetary Fund said in a video that the survey means that “consumers and Europeans can actually express their preferences and tell us whether they would be happy to use a digital euro.”