As the adoption of cryptocurrencies around the world continues to grow, much has been made about their use as a means of exchange and how their decentralized nature will be used to find freedom outside government control.
Speaking with Kitco news, the former Finance Minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis, discussed his thoughts on crypto, particularly the flagship digital asset Bitcoin, in addition to gold and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Recently, Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank, said she thinks “cryptocurrencies are worthless.” Regarding her tough stance, Varoufakis stated:
“She’s right when it comes to a means of exchange. Very few people use cryptocurrencies you know in order to transact on a daily basis. Most people, who actually buy them or use them transfer them. It is an investment, its value to most users of Bitcoin and so on serves the purpose of speculation.”
As a result, the former finance minister believes that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin won’t replace fiat currencies:
“I do not believe that I would call it oligarchic by definition cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin would ever replace [fiat currencies] it shouldn’t, it can’t and it would be a nightmare if it did.”