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European Central Bank Exec Affirms That Bitcoin Is The “Evil Spawn Of The Financial Crisis”
Benoir Couere, an executive of the board of the European Central Bank (ECB) has affirmed that Bitcoin is the “evil spawn of the financial crisis”, connecting the creation of the asset with the 2008 financial crisis.
He made the acid remarks at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel. The general manager of the BIS, Augustín Carstens, has likewise made his own evil remarks about Bitcoin when he affirmed that it was the mix of a Ponzi Scheme, a bubble and an environmental disaster.
Couere cites Satoshi to affirm that it was the fall of Lehman Brothers and all the crisis that happened later that created Bitcoin. However, he is far less of an enthusiast than the creator of Bitcoin, being more keen on Carstens’ vision.
After explaining the historical context in which Satoshi Nakamoto decided to create Bitcoin, Coeure has addressed the international monetary authorities’ pursue of blockchain and crypto initiatives. He acknowledged that there is a widespread interest in these assets but, at the same time, he claimed that what would be needed are central banks issuing cryptos.
About this case, he said that there is a certainty that no bank will do it until the next decade.
ECB Against The IMF
The main issue here is that the people at the ECB seem to be concerned with the remarks made by Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday. Lagarde has affirmed yesterday, at the Singapore Fintech Festival, that the international community should consider endorsing central bank-issued digital currencies.
According to her, cryptos or at least digital tokens issued by banks could satisfy public policy goals in the country and greatly help in the financial inclusion of the poor people in the world.
Since the IMF is a very powerful international institution, the more conservative wing of the ECB might be feeling threatened by the upcoming change because if the whole promise of decentralization ever turns into a reality, it will certainly limit the power of these pro-establishment institutions.
It looks like a war among bankers and financial institutions might start in the following years as some of them seem to be greatly hyped about all the potential of the blockchain and some of the others are very scared of the changes that it might bring to the table.
Are Central Bank-Issued Digital Currencies The Solution?
While the people at the ECB might swear that the central bank-issued digital currencies are not a good idea, some people are contrary to Coeure’s opinion. Stanley Yong, the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of IBM’s Blockchain for Financial Services, has affirmed that cryptos issued by central banks are basically the only way that you can mitigate the risks that were created after the 2008 financial crisis exploded.
According to him, they could more easily prevent a specific settlement system freeze like a systemic failure that could affect financial systems all over the world.
Evil spawn or salvation? What’s your opinion of cryptos?
Disclaimer
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