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Crypto Prices Are Fanned by Flawed Economics and Conspiracy Theories; CBDCs Are Immune: Bank of Finland Governor
While making a case for digital euro, Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn said central bank digital currencies won't be subject to the price volatility of private cryptos.
Updated May 11, 2023, 3:56 p.m. Published Aug 24, 2022, 8:15 a.m.
The volatile prices of private cryptocurrencies are "fanned by popular misunderstanding of monetary economics and even conspiracy theories," while central bank money in digital form can be trusted implicitly, the governor of Finland's central bank says.
"Some have joked that a central bank digital currency is 'a solution looking for a problem.' While I may not be an outright fan of CBDCs, I think the detractors unfairly downplay the potential merits," Olli Rehn, governor of the Bank of Finland, said during a panel at the University of California, Berkeley on Tuesday.
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Central banks around the world are exploring the benefits of CBDCs, and some, such as China and Nigeria, have succeeded in launching one. The European Central Bank (ECB), the apex bank of the European Union (EU), is still in the middle of an experiment into a digital euro, set to wrap up in October 2023. The bank's public communication on a digital euro so far has involved lambasting crypto over perceived dangers and risks while praising the merits of a digital euro issued by the ECB.
Read more: Crypto Remains a Threat: ECB Chief Christine Lagarde
Rehn cautioned against potential risks of transitioning to a more digital economy as demonstrated by the growth in crypto markets over the last five years. The high volatility of crypto assets means monetary policy can "only explain a small part" of their overall price movement, according to Rehn.
"Central banks must prepare for a digital future in which demand for cash as a medium of exchange may decrease, requiring the convertibility of private money into cash to be complemented by convertibility into central bank digital money. And we should recall that solid and safe access to central bank money is the foundation for price and financial stability," Rehn said.
Rehn closely echoed the ECB's previous statements on how a digital euro can help assure central banks always act as the anchor of the EU monetary system.
"This would be the primary reason if the ECB were to decide to issue a digital euro," Rehn said.
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What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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Key U.S. Senator on Crypto Bill, Lummis, Negotiating Dicey Points With White House
The Republican lawmaker who is among the core negotiators on the U.S. market structure bill said the White House has rejected some ethics language.
What to know:
- Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said she is negotiating with the White House on behalf of Senate Democrats trying to insert ethics provisions into Congress' market structure legislation.
- Lawmakers should reveal a new draft market structure bill by the end of the week and hold a markup hearing next week, she said.
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