European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Fabio Panetta recently took aim at Bitcoin and Ethereum during a conference in Rome on Tuesday. He claimed these two leading cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value and cannot perform monetary functions.
Fabio Panetta - Governor of the Bank of Italy, member of the ECB Board of Directors
This is not the first time Panetta has criticized the nascent cryptocurrency industry. In 2021, he criticized the negative impact of Bitcoin mining on the environment, claiming that it could undermine global sustainability efforts. In an interview with the Financial Times, he called Bitcoin “a very dangerous animal.”
Panetta even went as far as stating that cryptocurrencies have no reason to exist in the financial landscape. In addition to the mining industry, the Italian bank governor also criticized the lack of investor protection as well as rampant cryptocurrency crime.
It is worth noting that ECB President Christine Lagarde shares Panetta's stance on anti-cryptocurrency stance. In 2022, Lagarde thinks digital assets have no value.
During the most recent conference, Panetta also dismissed some concerns about tougher-than-expected services inflation.
The central bank governor favored a “gradual” interest rate cut in the near future after the ECB cut interest rates in June. The rate cuts come for seven consecutive months after inflation data Inflation in the euro area decreased. Bitcoin will likely benefit from the ECB's loose monetary policy. Even so, the US Federal Reserve has not yet begun cutting interest rates.
