EU sees no difference between cryptocurrencies and gambling

After the cryptocurrency market crashed in 2022, members of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) called for increased oversight of the industry as a whole. In particular, Executive Director Fabio Panetta said that investing in cryptocurrencies can be equated to gambling. The official emphasized that digital assets are not economically useful. He suggested that after the recent drops in cryptocurrency rates, they have become less secure and therefore «speculative in nature.»

«Cryptocurrencies do not perform any socially or economically useful function. They are rarely used for payments, do not affect the consumer market or investments. Unsecured cryptocurrencies also have no intrinsic value. They arespeculative assets,» the politician said.

Panetta believes that when developing a legislative framework for cryptocurrencies in the eurozone, references to existing EU gambling laws should be taken into account. At the same time, he emphasized that cryptocurrencies are often used for money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions circumvention.

The executive board member also called for the need to introduce central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to counter the influence of private crypto assets. Earlier, Panetta admitted that the ECB’s digital currency could have transaction limits for individuals.

The official proposed 3000 euros as a value retention limit and 1000 transactions as a monthly limit for transactions with digital assets. «We will provide access to a means of payment that is relatively limited, there will be no transaction costs because you will only need a smartphone,» Panetta said.

He emphasized that CBDC is not intended to replace cash: «The digital euro will be an additional option for retail payments, not a challenge to the functioning of the financial system.» The politician also pointed to a limit of 50 euros per transaction, citing anti-money laundering regulations.

It is expected that in February 2023, the European Parliament will vote on the introduction of the digital euro in the EU. And by September 2023, the ECB will decide whether to proceed to the stage of implementing digital cryptocurrencies for the euro area.