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ECB's Christine Lagarde Says 'Speculative' Bitcoin Needs Global Regulation

In a speech at a Reuters online event Wednesday, Lagarde said bitcoin was a "highly speculative" asset.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:55 a.m. Published Jan 13, 2021, 10:29 a.m.

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde says bitcoin has facilitated “funny business” and needs to be regulated at the international level.

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In an interview at a Reuters online event Wednesday, Lagarde said the “highly speculative asset” has led to "some reprehensible activity," including money laundering, and any loopholes need to be closed, according to a report from Reuters.
“There has to be regulation. This has to be applied and agreed upon ... at a global level because if there is an escape that escape will be used,” she said.
The European Union central bank chief added there will be a digital euro, hopefully in no more than five years, according to other reports.
The ECB has been looking into the benefits and risks of a euro-based digital currency since the Facebook-backed diem (formerly libra) project was announced in June 2019.

UPDATE (12:40 UTC, Jan. 13 2021): Added further detail from Reuters report.

ECB Regulation EU Christine Lagarde Digital Euro

Tanzeel Akhtar

Tanzeel Akhtar has contributed to The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes Africa, Financial Times, The Street, Citywire, Investing.com, Euromoney, Yahoo! Finance, Benzinga, Kitco News, African Business Magazine, Hedge Week, Campden Family Office, Modern Investor, Spear's Wealth Management Magazine, Global Investor, ETF.com, ETF Stream, CIO UK, Funds Global Asia, Portfolio Institutional, Interactive Investor, Bitcoin Magazine, CryptoNews.com, Bitcoin.com, The Local, The Next Web, Mining Journal, Money Marketing, Marketing Week and more. Tanzeel trained as a foreign correspondent at the University of Helsinki, Finland and newspaper journalist at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. She holds a BA (Honours) in English Literature from the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and completed a semester abroad as an ERASMUS student at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She is NCTJ Qualified - Media Law, Public Administration and passed the Shorthand 100WPM with distinction. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.