- Ylva Johansson speaks on a panel at the Munich Security Conference.
- The EU is more receptive than China, but it still strives to prevent fraud.
The European Union is open to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or a digital euro, but regulations must first be strengthened to prevent fraud, according to EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, who spoke Friday at the Munich Security Conference.
“I’m not opposed to digital currencies, but we need to regulate them properly,” Johansson said, so criminal organizations and terrorists can’t take advantage of the anonymity provided by some networks.
Lagarde claims that investigating the digital euro is part of the ECB’s responsibilities.
Her statement made it clear that Europe is more open to cryptocurrency than China, which recently banned all cryptocurrency transactions. Johansson claimed that by emphasizing regulation and fraud prevention, she appeared to be the “party pooper” on the security conference panel. Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive officer and co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and German entrepreneur Christian Angermayer, who co-founded asset manager Cryptology Asset Group, also spoke on the panel.
Bankman-Fried acknowledged the risks of criminals using cryptocurrencies, but stated that platforms’ oversight mechanisms have been greatly strengthened.
According to Angermayer, “financial institutions frequently protect their own interests,” while billions of people around the world are cut off from the financial system. He believes that the proliferation of blockchain technologies embedded in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, as well as the opportunity to digitize currencies such as the US dollar and the euro, can help to improve the situation.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
