The widely circulated video of European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde acknowledging that the digital euro will be used in a "limited" way to control the payments people can make is taken from a three-week-old video prank video.
Breaking news account Watcher Guru highlighted the video on April 6 and sparked a lot of discussion on social media. In it, Lagarde expressed a desire not to rely on "the currencies of unfriendly countries," or currencies provided by "private corporate entities like Facebook or Google." She said she "personally believes we have to move forward" with a digital euro. The prankster has had similar conversations with other public figures, including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and former U.S. President George W. Bush.
When "Zelensky" pointed out that "the problem is that they [European protesters] don't want to be controlled by a central bank digital currency," Lagarde admitted that "there will be controls, and you're right. You're absolutely right," but suggested this would be "Limited Control", adding: "We're looking at whether for very small amounts, anything around 300, 400 euros, whether we can have a mechanism with zero control. But that could be dangerous."
But Lagarde pointed out that terrorist attacks can and have been financed entirely by small, anonymous transactions. Lagarde's remarks were heavily criticized by the crypto community, especially her mention that a digital euro would allow control over people and payments.Some users see the bright side, suggesting that by clarifying “where this is going,” people will be pushed toward using decentralized currencies like Bitcoin.
The ECB began a two-year investigation into a digital euro in July 2021 and has been reporting on its progress. The investigation is set to close on Sept. 29 and, according to Lagarde, a decision on whether to open it will be made in October.
