A policy maker from the European Central Bank considers cryptocurrency to be a “fairy-tale story.” He’s also expressed his negativism on the matter, discarding the digital assets as a “complete load of nonsense” despite the bank’s position on the matter.
Cryptocurrency a “Fairy-Tale Story”
The governor of Estonia’s central bank and European Central Bank policymaker Ardo Hansson has expressed his stance on the matter of cryptocurrencies and their current decline.
The bubble has already started to collapse and maybe we should just see how far this collapse goes, and what is left when we’ve reached a new kind of equilibrium. […] I think we will come back a few years from now and say how could we ever have gotten into this situation where we believed this kind of a fairy-tale story. – Said Hansson.
Additionally, Bloomberg also reported that Hansson has warned authorities that they may need to focus on additional investor-protection aspects while highlighting concerns that cryptocurrency can be used of illicit activities.
It does seem like Hansson insists on a completely unsupported narrative, as experts have recently clarified that cash and not cryptocurrencies remain king when it comes to illicit activity financing.
Unconsolidated Position
Hansson’s negative position on the matter of cryptocurrencies doesn’t seem to fall in line with the stance of the ECB itself.
While the bank has recently dismissed the possibility for a central bank-issued cryptocurrency, it hasn’t really demonstrated any kind of steep negativism towards the field.
In fact, Live Bitcoin News reported in November that the president of the ECB himself has said that a digital currency could widen the range of economic actors.
In principle, a central bank digital currency could meet demands for both the security and digitalisation of the economy. It could also allow monetary policy to reach a wider range of economic actors more directly. – Said Draghi.
What do you think of Hansson’s position on cryptocurrencies? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!
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