European Central Bank president: Bitcoin not ‘mature’ enough to be regulated

Mario Draghi (photo), president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has said that cryptocurrencies are not „mature” enough to be regulated. Speaking at a press conference last week, CNBC reports, Draghi told reporters:

„With anything that’s new, people have great expectations and also great uncertainty. Right now, we think that – especially as far as bitcoins and cryptocurrencies are concerned – we don’t think the technology is mature for our consideration.”

He expressed caution and said that while innovation should be „cherished for its potential benefits,” it should also be „critically assessed” for risks.

„One of the lessons of the great financial crisis is that financial innovation, in this case it’s financial and technology innovation… should be embraced with lots of attention to its potential risks,” Draghi told a room of reporters.

Making the comments in response to a question on the potential of cryptocurrencies, Draghi further said that one of the lessons of the financial crisis is to „cherish” the benefits of fintech innovations like bitcoin, while still paying attention to their „potential risks.”

The comments follow his statement last month to the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, in which he said that ECB does not have powers to regulate or prohibit cryptocurrencies.

While it seems Draghi plans to wait as the technology matures, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), recently said that cryptocurrencies must be taken seriously as they have the potential to cause „massive disruptions.”

Meanwhile the price of bitcoin has hit a new all-time high, crossing the $6,000 line for the first time. Market capitalization is closer to the $100 billion line.

Source: coindesk.com