After calling for a framework for this “highly speculative asset” which facilitates “funny business”, Christine Lagarde once again criticized the uses of Bitcoin (BTC). The president of the European Central Bank (ECB) hardens her speech towards him and relegates him to an asset that fuels the activities of the dark web.

Christine Lagarde criticizes the uses of Bitcoin (BTC)

Speaking this Sunday, February 7 on BFM TV during the BFMTVSD show, the President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde again tackled bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies .

While the subjects of Diem (ex-Libra) and public blockchains are discussed, Christine Lagarde still considers Immediate Edge as a simple highly speculative asset that robs investors, in addition to being a vector to fuel illicit dark web activities. :

„It is generally these elements [cryptocurrencies] that are used to finance a certain number of businesses that take place on the dark web […]“, affirms Christine Lagarde.

Whatever Christine Lagarde says about the uses of bitcoin, a recent report from Chainalysis indicates that the share of cryptocurrency transactions linked to criminal activity has fallen sharply between 2020 and 2019. Yes, it should not be denied that bitcoin is used for such purposes, but its share in this activity is minimal .

At Bitcoin’s scale in 2020, only 0.34% of the network’s overall transaction volume is linked to criminal activity, or nearly $ 10 billion. Even if this figure remains important, it tends to decrease over the years and bitcoin is less and less used for these activities.

In addition, the Bitcoin network being a pseudonym , this feature can even help the authorities to trace criminal networks, where cash is much more difficult to trace.

Here is the passage of Christine Lagarde on BFM TV:

The case of Diem and the digital euro

During the show, the subject of the Diem project (ex-Libra) is also discussed. Christine Lagarde quickly dismisses the idea that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can resemble currencies, but believes that Diem could play this role . However, the idea of ​​a Euro-backed Diem stablecoin does not appeal to the President of the ECB:

“There, we can no longer speak of currency, it is Diem, which we used to call Libra, which is Facebook’s attempt to set up an element of exchange […] which would be exchanged for a dollar , or one euro, ”adds Christine Lagarde. “So one euro no, because we don’t agree. But a dollar, maybe, after all, ”she says.

Anyway, Christine Lagarde recalls that the ECB and that all the national central banks are currently working on large-scale regulation:

„It is imperative that, if an activity is carried out by a private actor, this activity, if it resembles“ money „, is subject to exactly the same rules, exactly the same ratios, exactly the same supervision mechanisms, »She maintains.

Regulation on a European or even global scale thus always seems to be on the agenda. Last January, Christine Lagarde had already called for international cooperation on this subject .

Finally, Christine Lagarde evokes the work in progress on the digital euro , a product whose real interest she struggles to explain during the show.