Former Belgian Finance Minister compares Crypo to Drug asking for a Crypto Ban

Johan Van Overtveldt, Former Belgian Finance Minister & the economic spokesperson for the conservative ECR political party in the European Parliament, drew a parallel between cryptocurrencies and narcotics asking for a ban.

A European Parliament member recently advocated for an EU-wide ban on cryptocurrencies in a tweet posted on March 17. Johan Van Overtveldt, a former Belgian finance minister and current European Parliament member, called for a complete prohibition on cryptocurrencies in light of the recent upheaval in the banking sector.

“Another lesson to be learned from the current banking commotion. Enforce a strict ban on cryptocurrencies,” Van Overtveldt tweeted, arguing that crypto offers “no economic or social value.” He further suggested that if a government bans drugs, it should also ban crypto, hinting at recent concerns arising from the turmoil affecting Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank, which has since spilled over into European markets, causing bank shares like Credit Suisse to plummet to record lows.

Nog een les te trekken uit de huidige bankcommotie. Leg een strikt verbod op cryptocurrencies op. Speculatief gif en geen enkele economische- of sociale toegevoegde waarde. Als een overheid drugs verbiedt, moet ze ook crypto’s verbieden.
— Johan Van Overtveldt (@jvanovertveldt) March 17, 2023

Van Overtveldt’s comments come as the special Basel Committee on banking has advised banks to establish procedures for holding and managing both Bitcoin and stablecoins by 2025. As the economic spokesperson for a group of 64 EU lawmakers, Van Overtveldt made these remarks in anticipation of the European Parliament’s upcoming vote on significant crypto licensing regulations for the bloc.

Since 2013, Van Overtveldt has been a member of the New Flemish Alliance party and was elected to the European Parliament in 2014. He served as the Finance Minister in the Michel Government in 2014 and, after the 2019 elections, returned to the European Parliament, where he currently chairs the Committee on Budgets and serves as rapporteur on the Multi-annual Financial Framework.

In April, EU parliament lawmakers are set to convene and discuss crypto regulation. The regulation is anticipated to offer a framework for wallet providers and exchanges that comply with governance and consumer protection standards. While Van Overtveldt acknowledges the “enormous potential” of distributed ledger technology to enhance productivity, he warns that many speculative projects entering finance through crypto tend to harm consumers.

The forthcoming banking legislation in the European Union encompasses a variety of strict capital regulations for banks that hold cryptocurrencies. According to a Reuters report on February 20th, the Basel Committee, consisting of banking regulators from major financial centers worldwide, has established a deadline of January 2025 for implementing capital standards for banks holding cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and stablecoins.

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