Is ECB Preparing to Ban Bitcoin? Top Analyst Warns of Harsh Taxes, Crackdown

[shield132]

I don't know why they do this but banning Bitcoin is a very bad decision. Bitcoin is the future and billion-dollar businesses are built in this niche. By banning Bitcoin or raising taxes, they are getting rid of lots of IT talents and businesses that will generate billions of dollars revenue but this will benefit small countries who offer 0 taxes and other benefits to these businesses. I don't know why Europe wants to do that. Shouldn't they be aiming to retain talents and businesses that build the future?
Their argument of early adopters benefiting the most and late adopters being offended is nonsense.

So bitcoin price starts rising up after a long period and all of a sudden we see the same old FUDs start coming out again? I don't believe in coincidence...

It's not coincidence and FUD are prepared, written to be very ready for release at right time of needing FUD. This happens many times, so coincidence basically rarely to happen, and if things repeat many times, no reason to think it's coincidence.

I'm also sure that FUDs are prepared. Bitcoin was rising and then suddenly China hit it with its Bitcoin mining ban and almost immediately Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla won't accept Bitcoin payments because Bitcoin miners use lots of fossil fuel for Bitcoin mining and transaction confirmation, which is the worst for the environment. Then the price went down. When the price went very down, then a sudden rumour of Amazon planning to accept Bitcoin pumped the price again.

[Lucius]

It honestly sounds like they are desperate about more people becoming Rich through Bitcoin so they are trying to crack down on them.

If you look at it from that angle, it might even make sense - because the more people there are who are not dependent (or are less dependent) on the existing financial system, the harder it is to control them. Some would say that the balance between those at the top of the pyramid and those in the middle and at the bottom should always be maintained - and Bitcoin is certainly not a factor that serves as a stabilizer but as something that can disturb the balance.

If they are this scared about Bitcoin then it is time to ban every thing that is scarce too.  Including Limited Editions of all sorts of B S clothing brands that are bought by scalpers and re sold for hundreds of percent more in Profit.

In fact.  How about ban Inflation.  People used to buy things much cheaper many years ago when I was not even born.  How about punish them for it, why did they have to pay less for stuff than I do!  Was it a plan of the Elderly to gain superior economic position all along?

Ridiculous as per usual.  No thing new to see.  Simply Institutions doing their 'best'.

I'm used to all kinds of nonsense considering that my country joined the EU not so long ago and we had to adjust a lot of things to EU regulations, and some things were really illogical. I often wonder if those people in the EU Parliament and all other institutions understand each other or if they have bad translators considering that they go public with such ideas.

[Smartprofit]

Fears about the ECB Bitcoin ban have swelled since a controversial report’s release. Analyst Tuur Demeester warns that the report’s negative portrayal of Bitcoin could justify harsh ECB Bitcoin regulation, including potential bans. The recent European Central Bank paper, “Distributional Consequences of Bitcoin,” has undoubtedly created controversy among most cryptocurrency advocates.

Demeester thinks this is the most aggressive attitude toward Bitcoin central authorities showed. For him, it is a kind of “declaration of war”. The framing could open the door to restrictive legislation, such as severe taxes or outright bans on Bitcoin ownership.

ECB Bitcoin Ban Possible, Analyst Cites ‘Luddite’ Argument

news link: https://coingape.com/is-ecb-preparing-to-ban-bitcoin-top-analyst-warns-of-harsh-taxes-crackdown/

Yesterday I read this ECB report. The position of ECB officials seemed very naive and infantile to me.

Any technological revolution leads to a redistribution of world wealth and the emergence of new rich people. People who ignore technological innovations do not become richer, and sometimes even worsen their financial situation.

It is enough to recall the rapid development of social networks (web 2.0) and the emergence of a huge number of bloggers who have received huge incomes in a short time. Are ECB officials also unhappy with this state of affairs? Perhaps they personally want to compensate for the financial losses of traditional media employees? Currently, many people are monetizing the new technological revolution - the development of artificial intelligence. Why do ECB officials not propose to ban AI?

For some reason, ECB officials believe that Bitcoin is to blame for everything, and not central banks and governments that produce uncontrolled emission of fiat money and financially support inefficient companies. Where is the logic here?

[d5000]

Ah, Mr. Schaaf and Mr. Bindseil, again. Does anybody remember "Bitcoin's last stand" from 2022, where they argue that Bitcoin's price would never recover from the FTX crash?

So they now shifted to the opposite opinion: they complain that Bitcoin's price increase could have negative consequences

The original paper is to be found here: The distributional consequences of Bitcoin. Its "findings" seem to be completely trivial, and they ignore that early Bitcoin adopters are often not rich people.

Schaaf and Bindseil fortunately are not "the ECB", although they are ECB officials. They seem to adopt a minority position in ECB. However, one should not simply ignore Bitcoin critics, and the best strategy is simply to "prove them wrong".

(PS: I think bbc.reporter's thread on the subject is more on point than this one.)

[avikz]

If ECB decides a crackdown on Bitcoin then the countries in European Union have no choice but to follow the same. You can surely expect more agressive regulatory actions around the continent which will result in a lot of crypto related businesses moving out completely to a new base. Countries like Dubai or Singapore might get benefitted out of this.

But a blanket ban is highly unlikely to happen. Not only it's hard to implement but it also not helpful for the government when it comes to revenue generation.

[Abiky]

Fears about the ECB Bitcoin ban have swelled since a controversial report’s release. Analyst Tuur Demeester warns that the report’s negative portrayal of Bitcoin could justify harsh ECB Bitcoin regulation, including potential bans. The recent European Central Bank paper, “Distributional Consequences of Bitcoin,” has undoubtedly created controversy among most cryptocurrency advocates.

Demeester thinks this is the most aggressive attitude toward Bitcoin central authorities showed. For him, it is a kind of “declaration of war”. The framing could open the door to restrictive legislation, such as severe taxes or outright bans on Bitcoin ownership.

ECB Bitcoin Ban Possible, Analyst Cites ‘Luddite’ Argument

news link: https://coingape.com/is-ecb-preparing-to-ban-bitcoin-top-analyst-warns-of-harsh-taxes-crackdown/

Europe has always been against Bitcoin. Especially the central bank (ECB). To see them "ban" Bitcoin, would be of no surprise to many. It will be done in vain, considering that Bitcoin is decentralized. China tried to do it, only to fail in the long run. Massive taxes will only force people to move away from the bloc into other countries with a friendly regulatory environment (UAE, El Salvador, etc). There's nothing governments can do to stop it. It's already too late for that. Either Europe embraces the revolution, or gets left behind in the dust.

Back then, I've used to hear rumors that the EU was going to make self-custody of BTC "illegal". Nothing happened, so I guess they've changed their mind after pressure from the public. Hope they keep their arms open to Bitcoin for their own benefit. Aren't there "crypto lobbyists" in the region? With money, anything's possible.

[hypersonic1]

Once again an un enforceable ban that turns your brightest minds into criminals over night. Or maybe it's just a ploy to keep normal people out of the space as it becomes even more valuable.

[Lucius]

~snip~
Schaaf and Bindseil fortunately are not "the ECB", although they are ECB officials. They seem to adopt a minority position in ECB. However, one should not simply ignore Bitcoin critics, and the best strategy is simply to "prove them wrong".

People who work for the ECB should have adequate education and be intelligent, and this report seems to have been written by two clowns on some drugs. Good luck to anyone who tries to explain to such people that they are wrong, because if they had a little common sense they wouldn't write such nonsense.

Not that I disagree with the fact that they should not be ignored, but there is a saying that a fish stinks from the head, not the tail - and we know that the head of the ECB is a person who has a completely negative opinion about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general.

[AmoreJaz]

~snip~
Schaaf and Bindseil fortunately are not "the ECB", although they are ECB officials. They seem to adopt a minority position in ECB. However, one should not simply ignore Bitcoin critics, and the best strategy is simply to "prove them wrong".

People who work for the ECB should have adequate education and be intelligent, and this report seems to have been written by two clowns on some drugs. Good luck to anyone who tries to explain to such people that they are wrong, because if they had a little common sense they wouldn't write such nonsense.

Not that I disagree with the fact that they should not be ignored, but there is a saying that a fish stinks from the head, not the tail - and we know that the head of the ECB is a person who has a completely negative opinion about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general.

Sooner or later, they will realize that they lack the knowledge to implement such protocol. It is only a matter of time before they will gain good grasp of this technology. But they actually need to educate themselves so they are not seen as ignorants in this market.
We don't need to "prove them wrong" because the facts are already available over the net. It is just that, people should be open-mind in understanding advancements in the digital market.