Johan Van Overtveldt, Member of the European Parliament and former Belgian Finance Minister, has called for a “strict ban” on cryptocurrencies as a consequence of the ongoing banking crisis.
In a March 17 tweet, Overtveldt He suggested that lawmakers should view a cryptocurrency ban as a “lesson” from the US collapses of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank, referring to digital assets as “speculative poison.” Members of the European Parliament have been debating the impact of the bankruptcy of these banks on the markets in their jurisdiction.
“If a government bans drugs, it should also ban cryptocurrencies,” Overtveldt said.
Nog een les te trekken uit de huidige bankcommotie. Leg een strikt verb op cryptocurrencies op. Speculatief gif en geen enkele economische- of sociale toegevoegde waarde. Als een overheid drugs verbiedt, moet ze ook crypto’s verbieden.
— Johan Van Overtveldt (@jvanovertveldt) March 17, 2023
Another lesson to be learned from the current banking shock. Impose a strict ban on cryptocurrencies. Speculative poison and without any added economic or social value. If a government bans drugs, it should also ban cryptocurrencies.
Belgium’s Finance Minister from 2014 to 2018, Overtveldt became a member of the European Parliament in 2019 and sat on its Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. In October 2022, the committee approved the Mercados de Criptoactivos framework, or MiCA, which is expected to come into effect from 2024.
As the impact of the banking crisis spreads, many US lawmakers have also claimed that financial institutions’ ties to crypto firms were partly responsible for its collapse, beginning with the voluntary liquidation of Silvergate on March 8. Silicon Valley Bank followed on March 10 in the midst of a bank run, and New York regulators seized control of Signature on March 12. Since then, SVB Financial Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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