European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said the bank would not consider holding Bitcoin reserves, even as sovereign entities increasingly turn to the asset.
A longtime Bitcoin (BTC) skeptic, Lagarde remained unmoved by the growing trend of using Bitcoin as a reserve asset to hedge against inflation as a reserve asset to hedge against rising inflation.
During a Jan. 30 media conference, Lagarde said she was “confident that Bitcoin will not enter the reserves of any of the central banks of the General Council.”
Lagarde’s opposition to Bitcoin and other digital assets is well-documented. The European Central Bank president has repeatedly criticized Bitcoin, claiming it serves as a vehicle for money laundering and illicit finance.
Speaking shortly after the European Central Bank’s latest interest rate decision, Lagarde also argued that Bitcoin’s speculative nature, liquidity constraints, and regulatory uncertainties disqualify it from being a viable reserve asset.
There is a view around the table of the Governing Council and most likely the General Council as well 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.
Christine Lagarde, ECB president
Lagard’s comments reaffirmed her previous rhetoric and confirmed the ECB’s approach toward the BTC-reserve-asset conversations. However, not all of Europe may agree with this stance.
Banks in Norway and Switzerland invested in companies such as MicroStrategy, which hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets. While these investments do not equate to direct Bitcoin holdings, they indicate a possible appetite for Bitcoin exposure and a willingness to integrate the asset into financial strategies.
