Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), said that bitcoin will not be included in the eurozone’s central bank reserves due to concerns over liquidity and regulatory scrutiny. This announcement was made during an ECB press conference on January 30.
“There is a view around the table of the Governing Council and most likely the General Council as well that reserves have to be liquid,” said Lagarde. “that reserves have to be secure, that they have to be safe, that they should not be plagued by the suspicion of money laundering or other criminal activities, And as a result, I’m confident that bitcoin will not enter the reserves of any of the central banks of the General Council.”
The press conference followed the ECB’s decision to implement a 25-basis-point interest rate cut, marking the fifth reduction since June 2024 as part of ongoing monetary policy easing. Lagarde addressed questions from journalists, outlining the ECB’s stance on reserve assets while reinforcing the importance of liquidity and security in central bank holdings. The discussion took place amid heightened global debate on Bitcoin’s role in national treasuries.
Lagarde mentioned concerns over money laundering and other illicit financial activities as reasons for excluding bitcoin from central bank reserves. According to Fortune, cryptocurrencies operate on transparent blockchains where all transactions are publicly recorded, allowing law enforcement agencies to trace illicit activities. The U.S. Department of Justice has used blockchain records to identify suspects, freeze illicit funds, and recover billions in bitcoin linked to darknet markets and ransomware operations.
According to the Financial Times, the United States’ evolving crypto policies are drawing business away from Europe, as industry leaders perceive a more favorable environment under the current U.S. administration. Meanwhile, the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation introduced stricter compliance requirements on December 30, increasing costs for startups and discouraging new businesses from launching in the EU.
Christine Lagarde is a French lawyer and politician who has served as President of the European Central Bank since 2019. Before this role, she was France’s finance minister (2007–2011) and later Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (2011–2019). She has a background in law and international finance, having worked at Baker & McKenzie.
According to their website, the European Central Bank is responsible for managing the euro and implementing EU economic and monetary policy with the primary goal of maintaining price stability to support economic growth and job creation. Established in 1998 and headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, it sets interest rates, manages foreign currency reserves, supervises financial institutions, and oversees euro banknote production.
