ECB Economist: “Bitcoin is the evil spawn of the financial crisis"
- Benoît Cœuré made his comments at a BIS conference in Basel this week.
It’s not often that regulators, particularly French ones, have anything positive to say about the cryptocurrency industry. But, on Thursday this week, a member of the European Central Bank (ECB) executive board - Benoît Cœuré - said, with a huge caveat, that Bitcoin was a “clever idea.”
Cœuré made his comments at the Economics of Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term IX conference, an event hosted by the Bank for International Settlements in Basel. As its name suggests, the event focuses on payments and financial markets infrastructure.
Opening the conference with a keynote, Cœuré noted that the first block in Bitcoin’s Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term contains a 2009 headline from The Times which reads; “Chancellor on Brink of Second Bailout for Banks.”
“In more ways than one,” said Cœuré, “Bitcoin is the evil spawn of the financial crisis.”
Annoyingly, Cœuré did not elaborate on this point. He continued by saying that, though Bitcoin is a clever idea, it is not a good idea.
To justify this view, Cœuré quoted the Mexican economist Agustín Carstens, who once said that Bitcoin is “a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster.”
ECB no fan of crypto
In fairness to Cœuré, keynote speeches are often delivered within a narrow time frame and have to address an array of issues. That doesn’t leave much time for speakers to deliver a concise, in-depth argument on specific topics.
Having said that, Cœuré clearly made a distinction between Bitcoin and blockchain technology during his speech. In making that distinction, he seemed to imply that cryptocurrencies, and not just Bitcoin, are bad and blockchain is good.
The merits of cryptocurrencies are certainly debatable but to write them off entirely seems unreasonable. Dash’s foray into hyperinflation-ridden Venezuela, where more than 2,000 merchants accept the cryptocurrency as a form of payment and payments can be made via text, is illustrative of both the positive effects cryptocurrencies can have and the verity of the anti-government worldview that played a hand in their creation.
It’s not often that regulators, particularly French ones, have anything positive to say about the cryptocurrency industry. But, on Thursday this week, a member of the European Central Bank (ECB) executive board - Benoît Cœuré - said, with a huge caveat, that Bitcoin was a “clever idea.”
Cœuré made his comments at the Economics of Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term IX conference, an event hosted by the Bank for International Settlements in Basel. As its name suggests, the event focuses on payments and financial markets infrastructure.
Opening the conference with a keynote, Cœuré noted that the first block in Bitcoin’s Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term contains a 2009 headline from The Times which reads; “Chancellor on Brink of Second Bailout for Banks.”
“In more ways than one,” said Cœuré, “Bitcoin is the evil spawn of the financial crisis.”
Annoyingly, Cœuré did not elaborate on this point. He continued by saying that, though Bitcoin is a clever idea, it is not a good idea.
To justify this view, Cœuré quoted the Mexican economist Agustín Carstens, who once said that Bitcoin is “a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster.”
ECB no fan of crypto
In fairness to Cœuré, keynote speeches are often delivered within a narrow time frame and have to address an array of issues. That doesn’t leave much time for speakers to deliver a concise, in-depth argument on specific topics.
Having said that, Cœuré clearly made a distinction between Bitcoin and blockchain technology during his speech. In making that distinction, he seemed to imply that cryptocurrencies, and not just Bitcoin, are bad and blockchain is good.
The merits of cryptocurrencies are certainly debatable but to write them off entirely seems unreasonable. Dash’s foray into hyperinflation-ridden Venezuela, where more than 2,000 merchants accept the cryptocurrency as a form of payment and payments can be made via text, is illustrative of both the positive effects cryptocurrencies can have and the verity of the anti-government worldview that played a hand in their creation.