- \n
- ECB\u2019s Lagarde has said that BTC isn\u2019t liquid, safe, and full of crime to be considered a reserve.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n
- But Bitwise\u2019s Andre Dragosch has debunked these allegations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The crypto community has criticized Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, for her opposition to a Bitcoin[BTC]<\/a> reserve among\u00a0member countries.<\/span><\/p>\n
In a recent presser, Lagarde <\/span>stated<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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\u201cReserves have to be liquid, secure and safe and not be plagued by suspicion of money laundering or criminal activity. As a result, I\u2019m confident that Bitcoin will not enter the reserves of any of the central banks of the general council.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
However, the community quickly countered her argument, stating that Bitcoin meets all the criteria she highlighted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
BTC meets the ECB\u2019s reserve criteria<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Andre Dragosch, Head of Research at Bitwise Europe, noted that BTC is more liquid than the most liquid traditional asset (S&P 500). He <\/span>stated<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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\u201cIs Bitcoin liquid? SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) \u2013 trades around 22 bn USD in volume per day. Bitcoin just had 54 bn USD in trading volume over the past 24 hours.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
For safety, miners secure BTC, the most decentralized network with no counterparty risk. <\/span>Dragosch added that one would need upward of $20B to corrupt BTC\u2019s system, rendering it a relatively safer option.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
As for criminal activity, crypto accounted for less than 1% of crime-related cases, per the 2024 Chainalysis report. The analyst added,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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\u201cOnly 0.14% of all on-chain transactions are related to illicit activities, including money laundering. Bitcoin is only a fraction of that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
![\"Bitcoin](\"https:\/\/ambcrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Bitcoin-reserve-Chainalysis.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSource: Chainalysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Another user, Daniel Sempere, <\/span>echoed<\/span><\/a> Dragosch\u2019s sentiment, reiterating that the Bitcoin network secures $2T in wealth and has never been hacked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth noting that Lagarde\u2019s comment was related to the recent Czech Republic\u2019s <\/span>move<\/span><\/a> to diversify its national reserve by adding BTC.<\/span><\/p>\n
Earlier in the week, the Czech\u2019s Central Bank Governor, Ales Michl, reiterated the bank\u2019s intention to add BTC to its reserves if approved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Whether Michl will back down on BTC after Lagarde\u2019s caution remains to be seen. In the meantime, Polymarket odds of another country adopting BTC briefly soared +70%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
- But Bitwise\u2019s Andre Dragosch has debunked these allegations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Bitcoin](\"https:\/\/ambcrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-31-114250.png\")