Why Does The ECB Really Want To End Bitcoin?

One does not spit venom on bitcoin as one wishes, even being on the side of the European Central Bank (ECB). Indeed, the ECB recently targeted bitcoin in a controversial report, claiming that the flagship crypto should be regulated or even banned. This attack did not go unanswered: BTC defenders retaliated by denouncing the methodological flaws and biases of the authors, who, according to them, only had one goal in mind.

Bitcoin: A disruptive crypto asset?

The ECB report published on October 12 vehemently attacked BTC, calling the asset volatile, unproductive, and concentrated in the hands of a few privileged individuals. Yet, the response from crypto experts did not take long. According to Murray Rudd from the Satoshi Action Fund, the authors of the report, Bindseil and Schaff, did not understand the very essence of bitcoin, which they reduce to mere speculation.

Worse still, their analysis deliberately ignores significant technological advances of BTC in terms of scalability and efficiency.

Critics of the price of bitcoin, according to Rudd, overlook the fact that it is a common characteristic in emerging technologies. In summary, a report that gets bogged down in an ideological war rather than in an objective evaluation.

• More than 50% of the major bitcoin addresses are actually crypto exchange wallets holding the assets of millions of users.
• More than 40% of the growth of active wallets occurred in recent years due to increased adoption.
• About 30% of the criticisms focus on outdated technical limitations.

The crypto community strikes back

In response to the ECB’s attacks, the crypto community mobilized to dismantle the arguments put forward. Allen Farrington, co-author of the rebuttal, highlights a glaring conflict of interest: Bindseil and Schaff are actively engaged in the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

” It is clear that they prefer to tout the merits of the future digital euro instead of acknowledging the virtues of Bitcoin,” says Farrington.

ECB’s critics also do not take into account the role of bitcoin in financial inclusion, especially in regions with unstable local currencies. Considering its innovations in energy efficiency as well, BTC could even surpass traditional financial systems.

Bitcoin, a mirror of inflation

The ECB did not hesitate to attack the distribution of wealth in bitcoin, claiming it was hardly more equitable than in the traditional financial system. However, BTC supporters reply that this criticism misses the heart of the issue.

Murray Rudd clarifies:

” By ignoring the impact of inflation on purchasing power, the ECB refuses to see what is happening in the real world.“

Indeed, bitcoin, with its limited supply, can be seen as a response to the decrease in value of traditional currencies, such as the US dollar, which is constantly subjected to inflationary erosion.

Thus, beyond speculation and ideological debates, the question remains open: is the ECB really seeking to protect the public, or rather to eliminate a potential competitor to its future digital euro?

In conclusion, the ECB, a staunch supporter of CBDC, does not view positively the possible ban of bitcoin if it can favor its digital euro project.