ECB President Christine Lagarde, who attended “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations”, made anti-crypto comments throughout the program. Lagarde shared his views on cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDC); He shared what crypto means for the global economy.
Asked whether cryptocurrencies serve a purpose in the global economy, or whether it is premature to comment on that, Lagarde claimed that the decentralized space is backed by a highly speculative asset class that doesn’t even come close to the definition of a currency:
“Cryptos are not currency, period. Cryptocurrencies are highly speculative assets that claim to be currency, but they are not currencies. They are not… I believe we need to make some distinctions between highly speculative, at times questionable cryptos and high-density energy consuming assets, but [ne olursa olsun] These are not currencies.
ECB President Speaks About Stablecoins
The ECB President also touched on issues related to stablecoins. Lagarde emphasizes that stablecoins are expanding rapidly thanks to big data. However, he argues that although they are different from mainstream coins, they should still be subject to regulatory oversight. The ECB Chairman emphasizes that while stablecoins call themselves less risky or less volatile, they are nothing more than currencies managed by private players.
CBDCs Will Not Be Mandatory
While discussing CBDCs, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde dropped her aggressive stance from the beginning and went on the defensive. Ladarde, who started his speech by saying that CBDCs were only introduced to keep up with the technology age; He claimed that unlike crypto, CBDCs are centralized digital currencies that make life easier in the digital age rather than making it riskier. It also confirmed that CBDCs will not be mandatory and will coexist with traditional fiat money, meaning consumers will have the freedom to choose their preferred mode of payment.
“They will be able to coexist because we want our customers to have the freedom to choose. If they still want to keep those notes and cash, that’s fine. Fiat money should also remain available and accessible.”