TL;DR
1.ECB officials maintain skepticism on Bitcoin despite ETF approval.
2.ECB officials reiterate Bitcoin criticism, citing concerns over irrelevance and environmental impact.
3.ECB officials unswayed by Bitcoin's market cap and price gains, foreseeing social risks.
European Central Bank (ECB) officials remain unmoved by the recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., reaffirming their stance that the fair value of Bitcoin remains zero.
Approval of Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S.
Despite the Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, ECB officials Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen Schaaf have not altered their perspective. The ETFs have garnered significant attention, accumulating over $3 billion in net flows and attracting more than $1 billion in deposits within a week. Speculation has also arisen regarding the possibility of an Ethereum ETF following suit.
In a recent blog post, Bindseil and Schaaf disputed the notion that Bitcoin investments are safe and emphasized their belief that Bitcoin's fair value remains zero.
Continued Skepticism
This sentiment echoes their previous statements from November 2022 when they asserted that Bitcoin was heading towards irrelevance, even prior to the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX. Their criticism of Bitcoin focuses on its slow and costly transactions, unsuitability as an investment, environmental impact due to mining activities, and concerns about price manipulation and fraud within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Addressing Market Dynamics
Despite Bitcoin's current market capitalization of $1 trillion and its trading price of $51,645.91 at the time of writing, representing a modest gain since yesterday but a slight decrease compared to the previous week, Bindseil and Schaaf maintain that these metrics do not alter their assessment of Bitcoin's fundamental value. They view the current market conditions as indicative of potential social damage when the perceived value of Bitcoin inevitably collapses.
ECB Bitcoin Skepticism
ECB officials, Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen Schaaf, remain firm in their belief that Bitcoin's fair value is zero, despite the recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. While these ETFs have attracted significant attention and investment, accumulating over $3 billion in net flows, Bindseil and Schaaf dispute the notion of Bitcoin's safety as an investment. Their skepticism is rooted in concerns about Bitcoin's slow transactions, environmental impact, and susceptibility to fraud. Despite Bitcoin's market capitalization of $1 trillion, they maintain that its fundamental value has not changed and warn of potential social damage when its perceived value collapses.
Huang Bo
