ECB Vice President Says Bitcoin Is Not a Threat to Monetary Policy

European Central Bank Vice President Constancio said recently that the dollar value of Bitcoin has more than tripled this year, and the rise of this virtual currency has caused concerns among central banks in many countries. However, Bitcoin is not a currency, but just a speculative tool. Therefore, Bitcoin does not pose a threat to the ECB's monetary policy.

Last year, the European Central Bank said that virtual currencies, which are usually issued by private companies and exist only in electronic form, could erode the bank's power over money supply, and therefore asked EU lawmakers to formulate stricter virtual currency regulatory rules. Earlier in September, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi rejected Estonia's proposal to issue a government-backed virtual currency. Draghi stressed that the only valid currency in the euro zone is the euro.

Recently, many countries have begun to significantly strengthen the supervision of digital virtual currencies. For example, Anatoly Aksakov, a senior member of the Russian State Duma Financial Market Committee, said that the new cryptocurrency exchange supervision law will be completed by the end of this fall. The South Korean Financial Services Commission also stated that digital currencies cannot be regarded as money or currency, nor can they be regarded as financial products.