ECB President Criticizes Cryptocurrencies, Backs Digital Euro Instead

• The crisis was addressed during a meeting of the G7 finance ministers.
• A digital euro is expected to be introduced by the ECB by 2026.

According to Politico, in a recent interview with the Dutch television program College Tour, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde rehashed her earlier critique of cryptocurrencies, arguing that they are worth nothing.

Fueled by Recent Collapse of Terra Ecosystem

Crypto assets, according to Lagarde, are highly speculative and remain very dangerous investment vehicles, giving the example of her son’s unsuccessful investment in the field. There is nothing shocking about the remark of the ECB president, as she has repeatedly condemned the sector. The announcement also comes at a time when the crypto market is in the midst of one of its greatest downturns, which is being fueled by the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.

The crisis was addressed during a meeting of the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in 2022. The discussion resulted in an intensified push for regulation of the whole crypto ecosystem to prevent losses of this magnitude. Despite her distaste for cryptocurrencies, ECB President has lent her support to the digital euro, a central bank digital currency initiative for Europe.

The President of the ECB said:

“The day when we have the central bank digital currency, any digital euro, I will guarantee it. So the central bank will be behind it. I think that is vastly different from any of those things.”

Because a central bank will support the digital euro, Lagarde says she can “guarantee it.” According to reports, a digital euro is expected to be introduced by the ECB by 2026. During one of his recent talks, executive board member Fabio Panetta revealed that the project might be developed to conduct person-to-person transactions.