Cryptocurrency Regulation: ECB: Not its job to ban or regulate bitcoin

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The European Central Bank shouldn't regulate or ban bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. That's the word from ECB president Mario Draghi. The leader of the ECB also says that he'd think very carefully about buying Bitcoin because of its volatility. Our Jack Parrock reports from Brussels.

During a session in which the European Central Bank answers questions put by the public, the ECB president spoke candidly about his feelings on bitcoin.

MARIO DRAGHI ECB PRESIDENT "A euro today is a euro tomorrow. Its value is stable. The value of bitcoin oscillates wildly. Of all things I would not call bitcoin a currency for this reason. I've also seen that many of you posted questions about whether the ECB is going to ban bitcoin or is going to regulate bitcoins, I have to say it's not the ECB's responsibility to do that."

Bitcoin, the best known of the cryptocurrencies, is used for online transactions but operates outside of financial regulations. The huge surge in December 2017 to make one bitcoin worth 20 thousand dollars made a lot of people rich. But subsequent price drops have had the opposite effect.

JACK PARROCK BRUSSELS "Cryptocurrencies perform all the functions of normal currencies but they're not acknowledged by central banks or government meaning they're not legal tender. Bitcoin's volatility though lead to many in Europe calling on the European Central Bank to step in. "

One of the calls is for the ECB to put pressure on the European Commission which could have more power to regulate cryptocurrencies in the European Union.

GUNTRAM WOLF, DIRECTOR BRUEGEL ECONOMIC THINK TANK "Governments more generally will fight back so I mean my gut feeling is that, as long as we have big powers, we have the ECB, the Federal Reserve, we have the Chinese central bank - they will defend their currencies against cryptocurrencies."

The European Commission is putting together a strategy on financial technologies which will be presented within the next 6 months. But for now the European Central Bank won't be getting involved. Jack Parrock, CGTN, Brussels