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German Finance Minister Says He Does Not Support Private Cryptos: Report

Olaf Scholz said banks need to adapt for a digital world but seemed to rule out private digital currencies from that future.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:33 a.m. Published Nov 20, 2020, 4:03 p.m.
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, speaking at a banking congress Friday, showed no love for privately issued cryptocurrencies.

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  • “I do not support private-sector digital currencies,” Scholz said, according to Reuters.
  • Coming from the finance minister of the euro region's largest economy, Scholz's comments potentially strike a blow at two private crypto projects: Libra, the Facebook-backed retail payments network, and JPMorgan Coin, the wholesale payments chain.
  • Nevertheless, Scholz told congressional delegates that European banks must adapt for the digital future.

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KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

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Strategy shares register first six-month losing streak since adoption of bitcoin strategy in 2020

Michael Saylor (Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Modified by CoinDesk)

Crypto analyst Chris Millas has highlighted an unusually persistent slump in Strategy shares, breaking with past drawdown patterns even as the firm continued accumulating bitcoin.

What to know:

  • Strategy shares fell in each of the final six months of 2025, marking the first time since the firm adopted bitcoin in August 2020 as a treasury reserve asset.
  • The decline stands out for its persistence, as past selloffs were often followed by sharp rebounds.
  • The stock sharply underperformed both bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100 despite the firm's continued BTC purchases.