ECB president’s anti-crypto comments trigger community responses

In a Dutch talk show, the ECB president said that crypto is “worth nothing” as there’s no underlying asset that backs the currencies.

From expressing disappointment to criticizing the euro, the community fired back at European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde for her recent anti-crypto remarks. 

As crypto markets show signs of being stagnant, Lagarde reminded the world about her stance on cryptocurrencies. According to the ECB president, cryptos are “worth nothing” because the assets are “based on nothing.” Additionally, Lagarde expressed her concerns over those that invest in crypto and called for regulation.

Because of these, the community expressed their sentiments over the central bank executive’s comments. Sheila Warren, the CEO of Crypto Council for Innovation, wrote that she’s disappointed, but not surprised to hear these comments. According to Warren, the “new digital economy will run on a combination of digital currencies, including crypto, stablecoins, and CBDCs.”

Meanwhile, crypto analyst Lark Davis took this opportunity to react to Lagarde’s remarks. Quoting the ECB president, Davis tweeted that he thinks instead of crypto, Lagarde just “described the euro” because it’s “printed out of thin air.”

ESB President Christine LaGarde said “My very humble assessment is that [#crypto] is worth nothing, it is based on nothing—there is no underlying asset to act as an anchor of safety.”

Ummmm, I think she just described the $euro

Printed out of thin air pic.twitter.com/Mq25reXtNL

— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) May 25, 2022

Sharing a video showing Lagarde admitting that her own son trades cryptocurrencies, Twitter user ByzGeneral called the ECB president a dinosaur. ByzGeneral tweeted “How do these dinosaurs not realize it’s over for them. Why keep fighting the future until your last breath?”

Related: WEF 2022: SWIFT probably won’t exist in 5 years, says Mastercard CEO

Earlier this year, the European Commission announced that it’s preparing a digital euro proposal for 2023. The ECB is expected to have a prototype by the end of 2023, and if everything goes well, it may be issued in 2025.

In April, ECB executive Fabio Panetta gave some details on the central bank’s research on CBDCs. According to Panetta, CBDC issuance may “become a necessity.” However, the executive noted that these digital currencies should not be a cause for a financial disruption that will “impair the transmission of monetary policy” in Europe.