Hungarian Bank Governor Proposes Complete Ban On Cryptocurrencies In Europe, Here's Why!

The faceless statue of Satoshi Nakamoto in Budapest, Hungary. (photo: twitter)

JAKARTA – György Matolcsy, Governor of the National Bank of Hungary, has proposed a complete ban on all cryptocurrency trading and mining operations across the European Union.

He cited this crypto ban imposed by China since last year, in a blog post shared by the Hungarian central bank aka Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB). The title of the article in the blog, “The Time Has Come to Ban Crypto Trading and Mining in the EU.”

He also pointed to the Russian central bank's proposal calling for a complete ban on trading and mining of domestic cryptocurrencies.

"I strongly agree with the proposal and also support the point of the EU's senior financial regulator that the EU should ban the mining methods used to generate the bulk of new bitcoins," Matolcsy said, as quoted by Cointelegraph.

China declared all cryptocurrency activities illegal last September (...) I perfectly agree with the proposal and also support the senior EU financial regulator's point that the EU should ban the mining method used to produce most new bitcoin.Read more: https:// t.co/pBTAH6mney

— György Matolcsy (@gyorgy_matolcsy) February 11, 2022

The governor of this bank strongly believes in the potential of cryptocurrencies to “serve illegal activities and tend to build financial pyramids.” Matolcsy also highlighted concerns raised by the Russian central bank, that the market value in crypto is determined by “speculative demand for future growth, which creates a bubble.”

On a final note, Matolcsy calls for a complete ban on cryptocurrencies to counter investor risks associated with financial pyramids and bubbles.

“EU citizens and companies will be allowed to own cryptocurrencies overseas and regulators will track their holdings,” Matolcsy said.

In September 2021, a bronze statue of legendary Bitcoin (BTC) creator Satoshi Nakamoto was unveiled at Graphisoft Park in Budapest, Hungary.

As Cointelegraph reports, the statue shows the top half of a featureless figure wearing a hoodie with the BTC logo on it. Debreczeni Barnabás, CEO of Hungarian crypto exchange Shinrai, was among the many crypto entrepreneurs who spoke at the statue's unveiling ceremony.

Satoshi statue unveiled today in Budapest. Love how it is reflective, underlining how we all play a role in Bitcoin. May it inspire all those fighting against authoritarianism worldwide, including dissidents and journalists being persecuted by Viktor Orbán in Hungary. pic.twitter.com/kEOaDt4ahi

— Alex Gladstein (@gladstein) September 16, 2021

“Satoshi Nakamoto has created independent money free from intermediaries that empowers people with financial sovereignty [...] We have erected this statue to remind ourselves that courage is a virtue. We have to keep dreaming big,” said Barnabás.