Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), has stated that she is confident that Bitcoin will not enter any European country’s reserves.
Lagarde made this statement during the Governing Council’s monetary policy meeting at the ECB headquarters on 30 January after it was rumoured the Czech Republic may include Bitcoin in its country’s reserves.
Lagarde said: “I think there is a view around the table of the Governing Council and the General Council that reserves have to be liquid, that reserves have to be secure, that they have to be safe, that they should not be plagued by the suspicion of money laundering or other criminal activities.
“As a result, I am confident that Bitcoin will not enter the reserves of any of the central banks of the General Council.”
Last week, Governor Aleš Michl told the Financial Times that he would present a plan to the board of the Czech National Bank (CNB) to diversify the bank’s reserves by investing in Bitcoin.
Currently, no central bank in Europe holds crypto assets, which Lagarde believes will not change anytime soon. She said that after Michl’s comments, she spoke with the Governor and ensured there was no space for crypto in European central banking.
At the end of her speech, Lagarde added: “I will leave it to him [Michl] to make whatever announcement he wants to make, but I am confident that he is convinced as we all are of the necessity to have liquid, secure and safe reserves.”
Elsewhere in Europe, Poland and Romania have both spoken against including crypto in central bank reserves due to its high risk and volatility.
Over in the US, crypto has been a hot topic, as of late. This is mainly due to the reelection of President Donald Trump, who is a vocal supporter of crypto. Since taking control, Trump has signed several executive orders, with one including plans to stockpile crypto which has been seized.
This follows a speech by Trump in July, in which he said: “If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the Bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires into the future.”
Despite these plans, it may not be straightforward for the President. Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve, said last month that the US central bank was not allowed to own Bitcoin.