Even those who should actually know better are not immune from losses speculating with cryptocurrencies: ECB President Christine Lagarde admitted on Friday in Frankfurt that one of her two sons had gambled away with cyber currencies. “He royally ignored me, which is his privilege,” she said. Lagarde is considered a sharp critic of cyber currencies. “He lost almost all the money he invested.” It wasn’t much, he lost around 60 percent.
“When I had another conversation with him about it, he reluctantly accepted that I was right,” she noted. The central bank chief did not say which of her sons, both of whom are over 30, made the mistake. “As you can see, I have a very low opinion of cryptos,” Lagarde noted. Everyone has the right to invest their money where they want. And everyone can speculate as much as they want. But she added: “No one should have the right to participate in criminally sanctioned trade and business.”
In the past, Lagarde had always advocated for strong regulation of cyber currencies in order to protect consumers and prevent criminal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing. Last year, the European Union (EU) became the first major economic region to agree on the regulation of cryptocurrencies. The framework, called “Markets in Crypto Assets” (MiCA), came into force this June. However, the complete implementation of the regulation is expected to take until the end of 2024. From Lagarde’s point of view, the MiCA regulation should only be a first step. She had repeatedly argued for global regulation of cyber currencies.