The ECB (European Central Bank) President, Mario Draghi, said that the bank does not have the authority to regulate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Draghi made this statement at a meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Although ECB's official statement has not mentioned cryptocurrencies, a member of the committee asked Mr. Draghi to clarify the regulator’s position in the light of China's recent ban on conducting ICOs, as well as more positive assessments from Japan and Mexico among others.
Draghi has replied that the ECB had not yet discussed the impact of the cryptocurrency. Nevertheless, he said that if the Central Bank would decide to analyze the risks, it would follow the same approach as in regard to all financial innovations with an impact on the European economy. It means that the ECB would check the technology’s scale, applicability, and influence on the European economy. He also added that it is not in the power of the ECB to prohibit or regulate Bitcoin.
“Certainly it’s not within our powers to prohibit or to do something of the nature…or to regulate Bitcoin, but we didn’t have a discussion on an institutional view of cryptocurrency,” said the ECB President.
Mr. Draghi went on to say that the ECB mostly had concerns in the context of cryptocurrency cybercrime. Two weeks ago, the Executive Body of the European Union, European Commission, has announced its plan to introduce a new directive on cybercrime as a response against the recent ransomware attacks in which the hackers required cryptocurrency payments in exchange for unlocking computers.
Although Draghi has refused to give any accurate assessment regarding cryptocurrency market, many other governments seem to express their position more clearly amid the expanding crypto-money ecosystem. China took a tough stance by banning the ICOs and the cryptocoin exchanges. Other countries stick to a more flexible position, at least as of today.