Italian central banker Fabio Panetta, member of the Board of directors of the European Central Bank, has spoken in favor of immediate regulation of the cryptocurrency market to protect investors and the stability of the global financial system.
“It’s not just a bubble,” Panetta warned. “Many bubbles burst one after another,” he added in a speech in London.
Uncovered digital assets are a form of financial gambling with no useful social or economic function, he said.
Even stablecoins, which are supposed to hold their value steady by being linked to an asset pool, are stable in name only, he noted.
“But these flaws alone are not going to lead to the end of cryptocurrencies,” he assessed, according to Reuters. “Gambling is possibly the second oldest profession in the world.”
The links between the cryptocurrency market and the financial system could be strengthened, especially if big tech companies enter the sector, which means regulation is needed immediately, Panetta warned.
