- The European Central Bank (ECB) has predicted the demise of Bitcoin (BTC) despite the recent launch of ETFs and increased institutional and retail adoption.
- Despite claims by the bank that BTC is used for illicit transactions, Chainanalysis reports reveal that the Euro and USD remain far more popular for criminal transactions.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has once again published a scathing article on Bitcoin (BTC) that shows its willful ignorance. In the latest article, the bank predicts Bitcoin’s demise, claiming that the world’s largest cryptocurrency lacks any inherent value and hence has a fair value of “zero dollars.”
Suspiciously, the ECB dismissed Bitcoin in 2022 after the digital asset moved from $17,000 to $20,000 in the weeks after the collapse of FTX. At the time, the bank defined it as a “dead cat bounce” and “an artificially induced last gasp before the road to irrelevance.”
In the recent report, ECB Director General Ulrich Bindseil and advisor Jürgen Schaaf go on to discuss the recent approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF. Approved in January, the products have exceeded all expectations, but the ECB remains unconvinced.
“The latest approval of an ETF doesn’t change the fact that bitcoin is not suitable as means of payment or as an investment,” Bindseil and Schaaf wrote.
The bank warns that the recent resurgence could be a “speculative bubble.” Without acknowledging the price gains, the authors of the post note that the price increase is not an indicator of sustainability. It further warns that the fallout from the recent price surge could be massive. “For society, a renewed boom-bust cycle of Bitcoin is a dire perspective. And the collateral damage will be massive,” the authors noted.
In addition to the ETF approvals, BTC is enjoying investor attention because of the upcoming reward halving and the prospect of an imminent turnaround in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy.
Despite the bank dismissing Bitcoin’s inherent value, it is peculiar how popular Bitcoin is in the EU, and the U.S. TradingView data reveals that the euro has lost 99.5% of its value versus Bitcoin. Some data further shows that the USD has lost up to 97.58% of its buying power relative to Bitcoin in the last five years. Due to inflation, the two currencies have also lost much of their purchase value.
The authors have also brought back the old-age narrative that Bitcoin is solely used to finance criminal activity. Despite being debunked over the years, the authors, without citing any source, claim that illicit BTC volume has been on the rise. However, this is far from the case. In fact, early crime reports from Chainalysis reveal that crypto crime declines in market downturns.
They are lying to us again. #Bitcoin is beneficial for the entire world and has not failed. Meanwhile, the #Euro has plummeted against #BTC, as evident in the chart, reaching a historic all-time low.
Furthermore: “Chainalysis found that only 0.34% of the transaction… https://t.co/Xg6YLSoowa pic.twitter.com/P29EM5ktcH
— Marcel Knobloch aka Collin Brown (@CollinBrownXRP) February 23, 2024
Their analysis further fails to point out that the U.S. dollar dominates global and online crime. Additionally, it ignores the basic fact that BTC runs on an immutable, fully public, and transparent ledger. This means all illicit transactions or forms of money laundering can easily be traced, making it the absolute worst asset for crime.
Since the post was published, many in the community have called out the bank’s ignorance of the facts. They have further taken the opportunity to praise Bitcoin and all the positives that come with the cryptocurrency, including financial inclusion and freedom from the traditionally oppressive system.
