Fabio Panetta, a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank and President of the Bank of Italy, targeted Bitcoin and Ethereum, the world's two largest cryptocurrencies, at a conference held in Rome yesterday.
Speaking at the Italian Banking Association Annual Meeting, Panetta said that BTC and ETH lack real value.
Panetta stated that BTC and ETH were not issued by any organization, so they lack real value.
According to Panetta, BTC and ETH have no intrinsic value and cannot perform monetary functions.
Claiming that investing in Bitcoin and Ethereum is actually like gambling, Panetta said:
“Unsecured cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have no intrinsic value, are sometimes bought and sold in opaque circuits, and cannot perform monetary functions.”
Bitcoin and Ethereum do not have the features that qualify them to fulfill the three basic functions of fiat money: medium of payment, store of value, and unit of account.
Without any guarantee and not backed by any real or financial asset, these assets are subject to high fluctuations and risks.
Moreover, these assets are often used for tax avoidance or money laundering purposes.”
Finally, Panetta also announced that the Bank of Italy will publish guidelines on how the European Union's cryptocurrency rules (MICA) will be implemented in the coming days.
“The guidelines aim to protect crypto holders and ensure compliance with MiCA laws, potentially increasing investigations and penalties for market violations in Italy,” Panetta said. said.
*This is not investment advice.