Hungary’s central bank backs full ban on cryptocurrencies and mining

The president of Hungary’s central bank, György Matolcsy призвал EU countries to ban cryptocurrency trading and mining.

In his statement he cited China’s hard stance and the Bank of Russia’s stance toward the industry.

“China declared all cryptocurrency activity illegal in September last year, and the Bank of Russia proposes banning cryptocurrency trading and mining. I fully agree with this,” Matolcsy said.

He also backed the EU’s earlier proposal to abandon Proof-of-Work mining.

“Obviously, cryptocurrencies can serve illegal activity and contribute to the creation of financial pyramids. The Bank of Russia is right to say that ‘the dizzying rise and market value of cryptocurrencies are driven primarily by speculative demand for future growth, which creates bubbles,’” the head of the Hungarian central bank said.

György Matolcsy invited EU regulators to cooperate to prevent the creation of new financial pyramids and bubbles.

At the same time he proposed allowing EU citizens and companies to hold cryptocurrencies abroad, provided that regulators monitor their assets.

In January 2022, the deputy head of ESMA Eric Teden urged EU regulators to ban the mining of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the Proof-of-Work algorithm due to its energy intensity.

During 2021, Chinese authorities took a series of initiatives, culminating in a full ban on mining and other operations with digital assets in the country.

On January 20, 2022, the Bank of Russia also spoke out against the cryptocurrency market. However regulators are still discussing this position and are more inclined toward regulation of the industry.

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