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A member of the European parliament has urged the authorities to impose a cryptocurrency ban citing the current crisis in the banking sector. Johan Van Overtveldt, former finance minister of Belgium, believes these assets carry no economic or social value.
Former Belgian Minister of Finance Proposes Ban on Decentralized Digital Currency
Member of the European Parliament, Johan Van Overtveldt, insisted that governments should ban cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. His call comes amid a crisis sparked by the failure of several banking institutions, including two crypto-friendly banks in the US
“Another lesson that can be learned from the current banking turmoil. Implement a strict ban on cryptocurrencies,” the lawmaker, who has previously praised blockchain technology, tweeted on Friday. “Speculative poison and no added economic or social value. If the government bans drugs, it should also ban cryptos,” he argued.
Another lesson to be learned from the current banking turmoil. Implement a strict ban on cryptocurrencies. Speculative poison and no added economic or social value. If the government bans drugs, it should also ban cryptos.
— Johan Van Overtveldt (@jvanovertveldt) March 17, 2023
Van Overtveldt is a Belgian journalist and politician from the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party, who served as his country’s finance minister between 2014 and 2018, in the government of Prime Minister Charles Michel.
He was elected to the European Parliament in 2019 where he has chaired the Budget Committee and represented the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON).
The ECR is a soft Eurosceptic anti-federalist political group in the European Union legislature. Free enterprise, minimal regulation, lower taxes, along with “small government as the ultimate catalyst for individual freedom and personal and national prosperity” were some of its founding principles.
Overtveldt’s remarks regarding cryptocurrencies followed the collapse of three US banks, two of which were involved in the crypto space, Silvergate Bank and Silicon Valley Bank. The consequences of this failure reached Europe, affecting Credit Suisse, the major investment bank in the Old Continent.
Europe has yet to comprehensively regulate the crypto economy by enacting a legislative package called Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA). EU institutions and member states agreed to the proposal last summer. It introduces rules for crypto service providers across the 27-member block.
Do you think Johan Van Overtveldt has reasons to call for a crypto ban? Let us know in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com
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