Mario Draghi: the EU Central Bank has no authority to prohibit bitcoin

According to the chairman of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, the financial institution he heads does not have the authority to regulate crypto-currencies. This is reported on the ECB website.

As noted, the relevant statement was made by the head of the Central Bank of the European Union during the meeting of the European Parliamentary Committee on Economic and Monetary Policy.

• "... in fact, it is not in our power to prohibit and regulate [bitcoin and other crypto-currencies]," said Mario Draghi.

The comment was made in response to a question from the committee about the intentions of the Central Bank to issue a regulatory act on the acceptance or prohibition of crypto currency.

At the same time, according to the head of the ECB, more stringent requirements to the capital of the financial companies could protect the banking sector. Also, according to Draghi, the regulator is studying the possible impact of the crypto-currency on the EU economy

• "We need to find out what impact the crypto currency has on the economy," Mario Draghi said, stressing that it is too early to consider crypto currency as a viable means of payment.

In general, the European financial regulator expresses fears that crypto-currencies can cause various cyber threats.

Earlier, Mario Draghi expressed the opinion that crypto-currencies render insignificant influence on the world financial system.