Bitcoin Lacks Monetary Properties and Is ‘Pure Speculation,’ Says Ex-ECB Chief

Hardly a revelation, but it turns out that those most deeply entwined with the global banking system are generally not on board with the current experiment in decentralized finance that is cryptocurrency. The latest to voice concerns about Bitcoin and other digital assets is ex-ECB president and former Bank of France governor, Jean-Claude Trichet.

Strongly Against Bitcoin

Speaking in Beijing, China, at a conference hosted by local financial media outlet Caixin, Trichet said:

“I am strongly against bitcoin, and I think we are a little complacent. The currency itself is not real, with the characteristics that a currency must have.”

According to the South China Morning Post, the former ECB president went on to say that buying a crypto asset was “pure speculation” and that such speculation was not healthy. Trichet is the latest in a growing crowd of global lawmakers and regulators expressing opinions against Bitcoin et al. Voices of opposition to cryptocurrency only seem to have grown louder since the social networking giant Facebook unveiled its own financial ambitions earlier this year. Libra, the digital currency envisaged by the San Francisco company, has faced intense regulatory backlash in the almost five months since BeInCrypto reported its formal announcement. However, it also appears to have prompted discussion about decentralized crypto assets like Bitcoin. Whereas previously mass adoption of Bitcoin seemed inconceivable and, therefore, cryptocurrency assets were barely discussed, the threat has become all the more real thanks to Facebook’s two billion-strong existing user base.

The Rise of Non-State Currencies

Since Facebook announced Libra, there seems a growing list of influential individuals awakening to how much of a threat alternative, non-state currencies might be to the current status quo. US Congressman Brad Sherman, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and ECB board member Benoit Soerure are amongst those that have argued that digital currencies could challenge the hegemony of the US dollar as the dominant means of settlement globally. In fact, Max Keiser, of RT’s Keiser Report segment argues that there is growing resentment of the dollar’s dominance around the world. For the long-time Bitcoin proponent, cryptocurrency offers an ideal settlement asset and use of it does not grant the US the ability to exert control on other nations. For him, it is inevitable that Bitcoin will fill the role gold has taken in the global economics of previous years. However, more than just allowing for greater freedom in world trade, a future economy built on some non-statist digital asset would render central banks obsolete. Therefore, it comes as little surprise to find representatives of the established monetary system, like Jean-Claude Trichet, hostile towards the financial and technological innovation.

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