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FRANKFURT (Reuters) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Wednesday called for global regulation of Bitcoin, saying the digital currency has been used for money laundering activities in some cases and that all the loopholes had to be filled.
Bitcoin has moved out of its niche in recent years and is now bought by ordinary people, investment funds, and even large corporations. Some have even taken out loans to buy more cryptocurrency, the value of which has almost increased tenfold since last March.
But its largely anonymous nature has raised concerns that it could be used for money laundering and other illegal activities.
“(Bitcoin) is a highly speculative asset, which has conducted some fun and interesting and totally reprehensible money laundering and money laundering activities,” Lagarde said in an interview with the Reuters Next conference.
Lagarde did not provide specific examples of money laundering cases, but said she understood there had been criminal investigations into illegal activity. She did not elaborate.
The cryptocurrency industry is still mostly lightly supervised or unregulated, although global standards in areas such as anti-money laundering (AML) have emerged.
She has joined a number of regulators around the world in calling for the implementation of global rules for cryptocurrencies.
“There must be regulation. It must be applied and accepted … globally because if there is a leak, that leak will be used, ”said Lagarde.
For more information on the Reuters Next conference, click here or at www.reuters.com/business/reuters-next
To watch Reuters Next live, visit here
Reporting by Alessandra Galloni, Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi; Edited by Catherine Evans
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