European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde disclosed that her 30-something son ignored warnings against cryptocurrency investments and incurred substantial losses, according to a Reuters report.
Lagarde said during a town hall meeting in Frankfurt with a group of students on Friday that her son “lost it all”.
“He ignored me royally, which is his privilege,” the French politician reportedly stated. “And he lost almost all the money that he had invested.”
Lagarde has openly talked about her son’s crypto investments, observing that he allocated money to crypto assets despite her multiple failed attempts to convince him he was making a big mistake.
The ECB president didn’t disclose the sum her son lost, noting that he claimed it wasn’t “a lot,” but only “about 60%” of his crypto investments. “So when I then had another talk with him about it, he reluctantly accepted that I was right,” Lagarde added.
She reiterated her negative view of crypto assets, admitting having a “very low opinion” of them. But, she still acknowledges individuals’ freedom to invest and speculate.
“I have, as you can tell, a very low opinion of cryptos […] People are free to invest their money where they want, people are free to speculate as much as they want, (but) people should not be free to participate in criminally sanctioned trade and businesses.”
The Digital Euro
Lagarde is a fierce critic of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In May 2022, she asserted that such assets were worth nothing. The central banker previously indicated it was “very unlikely” central banks would ever hold Bitcoin and claimed the ascendant crypto was a “highly speculative asset” used in money laundering.
Notably, the ECB chief is very enthusiastic about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). In the course of her tenure, the European Central Bank has taken steps towards launching a digital version of the euro, which she says should only complement but not replace traditional cash.
The digital euro project entered the “preparation phase” this month and will last for two years. The ECB, however, will not make a decision on whether to roll out the CBDC until necessary European Union legislation has been finalized.