ECB: Bitcoin & Co have no future; irrelevance is pre-programmed

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By Marco Oehrl

Investing.com - Central banks and regulators have stepped up their efforts to keep Bitcoin and co. in order with the recent turmoil in the cryptocurrency market.

The European Union is already pushing for a new authority (MiCA) to be created to oversee this market, while the ECB is in the process of developing a digital euro.

A recent blog post published by the European Central Bank shows that the institution is not at all open to Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Rather, the authors talk about how Bitcoin is rarely used for legal transactions. The technicalities also mean that this form of a digital currency is anything but suitable for payment transactions. Since there is no cash flow or dividends, the conclusion is that it is a decidedly poor investment.

The central bank also addressed the fact that more and more established financial institutions are offering crypto services to their customers. That there is a response to market demand at this point is understandable. However, banks should weigh well whether this new line of business is sustainable. There are warnings of a significant loss of reputation stemming from recurring scandals such as Terra and FTX, as well as "unprecedented environmental pollution."

All the aforementioned negative points will inevitably lead to Bitcoin & Co. "disappearing into irrelevance."

This attitude of the ECB towards cryptocurrencies is not new. Former member of the Executive Board, Yves Mersch, publicly described Bitcoin as "a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster." In his view, the financial sector must be protected from the negative influence of this industry. In case of doubt, with "decisive measures of foreclosure."

Benoît Cœuré, also a former member of the ECB's Executive Board, said, "Almost nobody prices goods in bitcoin, few use them for payments, and, as a store of value, they are no better than gambling in a casino."

With the latest blog post, the ECB shows that its views towards the crypto market have not changed compared to what the board members said in 2018.

Bitcoin technical price points

Bitcoin is currently registering a gain of 1.18% at a BTC/USD price of $17,084, while it gained 2.44% on a weekly basis.

The cryptocurrency managed to achieve a daily close above the 23.6% Fibo retracement of $16,986 yesterday. This has opened the door for an extension of the upward correction towards the 38.2% Fibo retracement of $17,841. Above that, the next resistances are in the area of the 50% Fibo retracement of $18,533, followed by the 61.8% Fibo retracement at $19,225.

If we fail to defend the 23.6% Fibo retracement on a daily closing basis as support, then losses towards the November 21 low, which can be found at $15,504, are possible again.