The European Central Bank (ECB) can reconsider its relationship with every European National Bank that adds Bitcoin to its reserves, according to ECB board member Piero Cipollone.
In a February 6 interviewCipollone suggested that if a National Bank Integrates Bitcoin into its participations, the institution should assess the risks related to its return agreements (Repo) and Swaples.
He noted that the ECB would determine whether it would maintain ties with such banks after performing this evaluation. According to him:
“We should do a risk management assessment of it. Let’s see if a central bank enters this space because I don’t see the reason for this. We will assess it at that time, if it happens. “
Cipollone repeated his skepticism about the role of Bitcoin as a reserve walk. He emphasized that BTC lacks intrinsic value and suggested that its primary attraction comes from speculation about price rating.
According to him, investing in BTC relies on the conviction that the price will rise continuously, because it is not an active underlying value, support or revenue model.
He explained:
“I try to be rational and think about why I should invest in Bitcoin or another crypto-asset. The only reason is that if one thinks the price will always rise. It has no underlying value, there is no assets it supports, there is no revenue model. “
Cipollone’s comment follows recent developments in the Czech National Bank (CNB), which evaluates the potential inclusion of Bitcoin in its reserve baths. However, ECB President Christine Lagarde has expressed to trust That the CNB and other large European central banks BTC will probably not approve a spare walk.
Bitcoin versus gold
Cipollone also rejected comparisons between Bitcoin and Gold, with the argument that the two assets differ in market structure, transparency and adoption.
Although BTC shares some characteristics with gold, such as scarcity and an observed value storage, he believes that the comparison is inadequate.
He said:
“I would be careful with making the analogy. I don’t know how deep the market is for gold, but there are central banks in that market, and not just because of a legacy system. We should not stop with a superficial analogy between gold and bitcoin. “
Cipollone also indicated that gold benefits from historical significance and established commercial and industrial use, in contrast to BTC, which does not share these attributes.
He noticed:
‘[Central banks invest in gold] Partly because of inheritance, but gold has intrinsic, commercial and industrial value. Bitcoin doesn’t have that. ‘
He also argued that Bitcoin and gold are impractical for daily transactions compared to Fiat currencies, which facilitate payments and offer relative stability.
