European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said that one of her sons lost nearly all of his money investing in cryptocurrencies.
Lagarde has long been a vocal critic of Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, calling the digital coins and tokens “speculative” and “worthless.”
However, despite her opposition, Lagarde said that one of her two sons invested heavily in crypto and paid the price.
“He ignored me royally, which is his privilege,” said Lagarde in a speech delivered to students at a townhall in Frankfurt, Germany. “And he lost almost all the money that he had invested.”
Lagarde has two sons, both of them in their mid-30s, and did not say which of her two boys she was referring to, though she said he lost more than 60% of his crypto investments.
“When I then had another talk with him about it, he reluctantly accepted that I was right,” said the ECB President, referring to her denouncements of digital assets.
Under Lagarde’s leadership, the ECB has called for global regulation of cryptocurrencies both to protect consumers and to prevent funding of criminal organizations.
Earlier this year, the European Central Bank began preparations for a digital currency but said it needs another two years before it will be able to decide on whether to issue it or not.
“I have, as you can tell, a very low opinion of crypto,” Lagarde said to the students she was addressing.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has seen its price rise 128% this year to nearly $38,000 U.S. after falling as low as $16,000 U.S. in 2022.
