At the Munich Security Conference, Friday, Ylva Johansson, EU Commissioner for Interior, stated that while the European Union is open-minded to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and a digital euro however regulations must be strengthened to prevent fraud.
- Munich Security Conference Panel: Ylva Johansson
- EU is more open than China, but still strives to prevent fraud
Johansson stated that while digital currencies are not a problem, it is important to regulate them properly so terrorists and criminal organizations don’t take advantage of the anonymity offered by certain networks.
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She stated that Europe was more open to cryptocurrency transactions than China, which recently moved to ban all.
Johansson claimed she was the “party pooper”, as she stressed regulation and fraud prevention at the security conference’s panel. Sam Bankman-Fried (chief executive officer and co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX) and Christian Angermayer (German entrepreneur), attended the panel. Angermayer co-founded asset manager Cryptology Group.
Although Bankman-Fried recognized the dangers of criminals using cryptocurrency, he said that platforms have significantly strengthened oversight mechanisms.
Angermayer stated that “financial institutions often defend their own interests”, while billions of people around the globe without bank accounts are disconnected from the financial system. He suggested that this situation could be improved by the proliferation and digitization of currencies such as the U.S. Dollar and Euro, which are both embedded in blockchain technologies.
