French and German finance ministers called for a ban on bitcoin
France, Germany’s finance minister, and the central bank governor jointly called for the suppression of Bitcoin and similar encrypted digital currency. In an open letter to the Group of 20 finance ministers meeting, they said digital currency poses a significant risk to investors and should be closely monitored.
The letter was signed by Peter Altmaier, the German interim finance minister, and Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, and demanded that the relevant regulations be discussed at this year’s G20 summit. In an open letter, “Tokens and their potential for financial innovation should not be left to those who make the worst use of them. France and Germany have already taken concrete regulatory measures regarding ‘virtual currencies’ in the field of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing and the European Union is working in the same direction.
“However, an efficient pushback against the use of “tokens” and “virtual currencies” for the purpose of criminal activities will require a coordinated international effort.”
Image: btcsoul
The signature of Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the French Central Bank, and Jens Wedimann, President of the Central Bank of the Central Bank, also appeared in this open letter. This open letter warned that cryptocurrencies can hurt long-term financial stability and that investors’ risks are at risk because of a lack of understanding of digital currencies.
In a separate television interview with the French press, Mr. Le Maire said he called for the management of cryptocurrencies from a few months ago. The day before this open letter was published, the European Central Bank issued a statement refusing to recognize the currency form of digital currencies such as bitcoin. Yves Mersch, the board member of Luxembourg Central Bank, said they also have an unpredictable future. Bitcoin prices soared to the end of 2017, but diving this month. The price of bitcoin has plunged from $9,300 last Saturday to $5,900 this Tuesday.
Source: Telegraph
