FRANKFURT (Reuters) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde slapped down on Thursday a suggestion by her Czech colleague Ales Michl to include bitcoin among his country’s official reserves.
While the Czech Republic does not use the euro, it is part of the European Union and therefore its central bank sits on the ECB’s General Council, which is chaired by Lagarde and advises member states on financial policy.
Asked about including bitcoin in reserves, Lagarde – who said she had spoken to Michl – reaffirmed there was no place for the cryptocurrency in European central banking.
“I am confident that … bitcoins won’t enter the reserves of any of the central banks of the General Council,” she told a press conference following the ECB’s interest rate decision.
Michl’s comments on Wednesday made waves in the financial community because central banks have steered well clear of cryptocurrencies, which were originally envisaged as an alternative to the official monetary system.
Lagarde said she had a “good conversation” with Michl after his comments and that he agreed that central bank reserves should be “liquid, secure and safe”.
Bitcoin has rocketed in value over the last few years but it remains volatile and concentrated in the hands of relatively few holders.
The Czech National Bank said on Thursday its board had approved conducting an analysis to look at broadening its reserves portfolio to include other asset classes, without mentioning bitcoin.
Poland’s central bank said on Thursday it was not considering investing in cryptocurrencies, “an asset class with very high risk”. The Romanian central bank has also said it has no plans to include crypto in any way.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said last month that the U.S. central bank was not allowed to own bitcoin.
But U.S. President Donald Trump has sketched out an ambitious crypto strategy including a possible national cryptocurrency stockpile and support for globally available stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar.
(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Catherine Evans)
