Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, doesn't think cryptocurrencies are worth anything.
In an interview with a Dutch talk show that aired Sunday, Lagarde said that she thought it was worthless.
She said that there was no underlying asset to act as an anchor of safety.
Lagarde called for rules to be put in place to protect inexperienced investors who are making big bets on digital assets. Since its all-time highs in November, the world's largest Cryptocurrencies have plummeted, with the largest being erased more than half of its value.
I'm concerned about people who think it will be a reward, who don't understand the risks, and who will be disappointed.
One member of the show's audience lost 7,000 euros after buying a token cardano, and Lagarde responded: "That hurts."
The skepticism of the former International Monetary Fund chief is not new. She raised concerns about the environmental impact of digital currencies, as well as their potential use in money laundering and sanctions evasion.
Her comments come at a time of heightened scrutiny of the market as regulators react to the collapse of terraUSD, a controversial stable coin that was meant to always be worth $1.
The European Central Bank is working on its own virtual alternatives to cash in response to the rapid growth of digital currencies. Lagarde said that a digital euro would be vastly different than private cryptocurrencies.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
