Why is ECB boss Christine Lagarde anti-crypto? Because her son lost a ton of money

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Last Updated on 26 November 2023 by CryptoTips.eu

Just as Bitcoin briefly traded above $38,000 for the first time this year, ECB boss Christine Lagarde held a question-and-answer session in Frankfurt, the financial center of continental Europe, for about 200 economic students.

During this so-called ‘town hall’, she finally admitted the reason why she is not a fan of crypto. One of her sons (she has two) lost 60% of his investment. It seems a bit hypocritical to us that this is the reason you wouldn’t want to admit that digital currencies are the money of the future, but Lagarde is not alone in defending her offspring. Many famous mothers have reacted in similar manners.

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Thatcher

Back in the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher was Britain’s first female minister. She was very popular but also made some rather strange decisions in her day.

One famous example was her refusal to condemn the apartheid regime in South Africa. For a very long period, Great Britain was one of the only countries to do so.

Many wondered why Thatcher refused as public opinion was dead set against her. It was later revealed that her son had investments in the country, and if Britain refused to trade with South Africa, Mark Thatcher would lose a lot of money.

Mommy held her ground as long as she could, but eventually had to give in to pressure from her own government. It didn’t change much for Mark Thatcher. He moved from scandal to scandal and was eventually arrested.

Yellen and Lagarde

Fast forward 45 years and we find ourselves in a situation where two women, both about the same age as Thatcher was back then, are firmly in control of the finances of the West (the EU and the United States that is). Janet Yellen is Secretary of the Treasury in the United States, Christine Lagarde is the head of the European Central Bank. Both are famously very anti-crypto.

Janet Yellen has always been anti-Bitcoin. When she was still chair of the Federal Reserve, she at one point (back in 2017) had to explain to Congress the situation of the country’s financial situation.

Bitcoin, which rose to $20,000 for the first time in 2017 and was being offered for sale in the United States for the first time, was also discussed. When it did, a man sitting behind her held up a sign that said ‘buy Bitcoin. The photo became legendary and Yellen turned even more anti-crypto than she already was.

Christine Lagarde has also been very vocal about her anti-crypto position for several years, and many thought this was because she was afraid that the Euro would lose ground to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Even her past as French finance minister with very good connections to the strong French banking sector was seen as a possible reason for her stance. Turns out it is all much simpler.

When she was asked a few questions the day before yesterday in Frankfurt, the reason was finally revealed. One of her sons had invested in crypto (against her advice) and apparently lost a lot of money.

“He ignored me royally, which is his privilege,” the ECB chief said “and he lost almost all the money that he had invested. It wasn’t a lot but he lost it all, he lost about 60% of it. So when I then had another talk with him about it, he reluctantly accepted that I was right.”

“I have, as you can tell, a very low opinion of cryptos,” Lagarde said.

Indeed she does. We now finally know why.

VadimVasenin / Depositphotos.com

Jeroen Kok

Jeroen is one of the lead copywriters on Cryptotips.eu and discusses all recent events in the crypto market. This includes news updates, but also price analyzes and more. He developed his passion for cryptocurrency during the bull run in 2017. He has learned a lot since then. The combination of cryptocurrency and creative writing is perfect for Jeroen and an excellent way to share his knowledge with a wide audience. Find me on LinkedIn / [email protected]
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