Christine Lagarde is known as the head of the International Monetary Fund, as well as one of the few global financial leaders to support, to a certain degree, cryptocurrencies. She is now also the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), and this could prove to be extremely beneficial for crypto. Already recognizing the virtues of digital currencies, Lagarde is apparently ready to take the bull by the horns and could be preparing to introduce crypto-friendly regulations.
Lagarde has previously stated, in an interview with CNBC, “I think the role of the disruptors and anything that is using distributed ledger technology, whether you call it crypto, assets, currencies, or whatever…that is clearly shaking the system.” She cautions that any disruption shouldn’t alter current financial stability and this could lead to the introduction of global regulations for all crypto assets.
True crypto fans realize that regulations aren’t only inevitable; they’re necessary. Introducing controls will help foster a more mature and evolved ecosystem to allow Bitcoin to take its rightful place in society and set the boundaries within which they can work. While regulations cannot completely prevent scams and frauds—just like they can’t in any system—they would go a long way toward allowing greater adoption on a global level and toward weeding out many of the illicit players.
Having Lagarde at the helm of the ECB could be very good for the entire Bitcoin industry. Mati Greenspan, a senior market analyst for eToro, told clients last week, “Several people have pointed out to me already is that the next ECB boss is incredibly crypto friendly. Indeed, Christine Lagarde who is set to replace Mario Draghi on 1 November is extremely pro digital assets.”
The timing of Lagarde’s appointment is interesting to say the least. The ECB has traditionally been run by economists who have supported a mainstream financial agenda. Lagarde, however, is more a politician than an economist. Combining this with an apparent openness to cryptocurrencies could be a sign that not only the ECB is changing its stance on digital currencies, but that almost the entire world is finally ready to embrace the future of currency.
New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.
