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European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde doesn’t think central banks will hold bitcoin anytime soon.

During a conference call with The Economist, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said: “It’s very unlikely — I would say it’s out of the question” that central banks make such a move, according to a report by Business Insider. 

This isn’t the first negative comment Lagarde has made about Bitcoin. She previously argued that Bitcoin is highly speculative and used for “funny business” and, and as a result, must be regulated. 

But despite the skepticism over Bitcoin, Lagarde conceded that the pandemic has boosted demand for digital currencies.

In fact, the ECB has been debating whether to create a digital euro, though decisions about the currency’s underlying technology have yet to be made.

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Mastercard said Wednesday that it will begin supporting cryptocurrencies on its network later this year.

In a blog post, the payments giant stated that “[w]hatever your opinions on cryptocurrencies — from a dyed-in-wool fanatic to utter skeptic — the fact remains that these digital assets are becoming a more important part of the payments world.”

“We are preparing right now for the future of crypto and payments, announcing that this year Mastercard will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on our network. This is a big change that will require a lot of work,” the firm went on to say. CoinDesk first reported the news.

It’s unclear which cryptocurrencies Mastercard will support, with the card giant noting that “we will be very thoughtful about which assets we support based on our principles for digital currencies, which focus on consumer protections and compliance.”

Prior to today’s announcement, Mastercard’s crypto efforts were primarily focused on its card efforts, through which consumers could effectively pay with their cryptocurrencies at the point of sale. But in those instances, merchants were receiving government-issued currencies rather than cryptocurrencies directly. 

“Our philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: It’s about choice. Mastercard isn’t here to recommend you start using cryptocurrencies. But we are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value,” the company said.

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Tim Lane, deputy governor of Canada’s central bank, said Wednesday that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic may ultimately accelerate the institution’s decision-making process on whether to issue a digital currency.

The Bank of Canada has spent years experimenting with a digitized version of the Canadian dollar, making it one of a growing number of central banks that conduct research and development in this area. According to Lane, who spoke during an event on Wednesday: “The pandemic may bring us to a decision point sooner than we had anticipated.” His comments were reported by Reuters.

Still, Lane’s commentary indicated that a decision to go ahead with a digital Canadian dollar is not a foregone conclusion.

“A digital currency is by no means a foregone conclusion,” Lane remarked.

Elsewhere during the event, Lane sharply criticized bitcoin, remarking that “[c]ryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin do not have a plausible claim to become the money of the future.”

“The recent spike in their prices looks less like a trend and more like a speculative mania.”

He similarly expressed a critical viewpoint toward stablecoins, or digital assets that are tied in some fashion to government-issued currencies like the U.S. dollar.

“If that business model were used as a foundation for the dominant method of payment in the economy, the issuer would gain control over an enormous range of data – bringing with it overwhelming market power,” Lane said, according to Reuters. “In effect, a technology company could become the gatekeeper of the entire economy.”

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

A community bank in Virginia is now offering bitcoin purchases and redemptions as an option at its automatic teller machines (ATMs), according to the Virginia-based newspaper the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

Cryptocurrency ATMs have been in the United States since 2013. But Blue Ridge Bank, based in Charlottesville, Virginia, appears to be the first U.S.-based community bank to let users obtain and redeem bitcoin from their ATMs. 

Blue Ridge Bank offered crypto ATM services after noticing the high demand for bitcoin. “We try to be forward-looking with what we are doing and anticipate our customers’ needs — both present and future customers,” Blue Ridge Banks CEO Brian Plum told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

To offer crypto services, which started last week, Blue Ridge partnered with BluePoint ATM Solutions, a national ATM operator based in Woodstock, Virginia and Boston-based Bitcoin ATM software firm LibertyX. 

Users must have the LibertyX phone app and digital wallet in order to purchase Bitcoin from Blue Ridge. But anyone — not just Blue Ridge Bank customers — can obtain Bitcoin from the bank’s machines. According to the Times-Dispatch, the service allows customers to redeem bitcoin for U.S. dollars as well.

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.