European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde revealed that her son lost money investing in cryptocurrencies, Reuters reported Nov. 24.
Lagarde said her son lost “almost all” of his investments by trading cryptocurrencies despite her warnings.
"He totally ignored me, which was his prerogative... and he lost almost all the money he had invested. It wasn't much, but he lost everything, about 60%... so when I talked to him about it again, he reluctantly accepted that I was right."
Lagarde added that she has a "very low opinion of cryptocurrencies." She said that while people are free to invest and speculate in the region, they should not be allowed to engage in business and trade that involves criminal activities.
Lagarde was speaking to students at an event in Frankfurt, Germany, called Euro20plus, hosted by Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank.
Lagarde involved in ECB policy
Lagarde has also been involved in many other ECB activities related to cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and digital asset regulation.
In November 2022, Lagarde advocated for an update to the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, called MiCA 2, which she said was “designed to regulate a much wider scope” than its predecessor. MiCA applies to custodial wallets and exchanges as well as certain crypto assets and stablecoins. In contrast, MiCA 2 will address the regulation of decentralized DeFi platforms and crypto assets without issuers.
Although Lagarde has previously advocated for the MiCA 2 framework, she also mentioned FTX’s recent debacle in that speech.
In October 2023, Lagarde released a statement describing progress on a digital euro, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that could provide a regulated alternative to cryptocurrencies. She advocated for CBDCs more broadly in May 2023.
The former ECB president said her son lost 60% of his investment in cryptocurrency trading.
