Bruno le Maire gave BFM Crypto the scoop on his “first big interview”. Take out the violins.
MiCado
As for Bruno Le Maire, we can’t “don’t be afraid of innovation and decentralization”. “We want France to be the European hub of the crypto-asset ecosystem”he trumpeted.
The Minister for Finance warns, however, that neither should “a world without a state, without a central bank, without borders and ultimately without money. “. “This idolatry would endanger our sovereignty, but also and above all, the most vulnerable among us. »
Everything is going very well, Madame la Marquise. So don’t go asking questions about the trillions the ECB printed. Rather than out-of-control inflation, however, the transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich.
No. Rejoice instead of being “under the French presidency of the Council of the European Union we have found an ambitious political compromise regarding the MiCa regulation”. In addition, Mr. Le Maire said that he was proud to attract two of the largest exchanges in the world to Paris: Binance and Crypto.com.
This will still create some jobs in crypto casinos and bring in some tax revenue. Speaking of taxes, the tax framework for capital gains should be clarified in 2023.
Soon a report on the environmental impact of bitcoin
Bruno the Mayor revealed that his ministry writes “a report on the environmental impact of cryptoassets”. He will be looking “how the sector can reduce its emissions, particularly in terms of mining”.
Unfortunately, the Minister was delighted at the same time “from Ethereum to proof of issue, consumes much less energy”which shows that he has not mastered his subject.
This faux pas did not escape the miner Sébastien Gouspillou:
Yes, bitcoin consumes energy. But he is happy! Bitcoin is the only technology to make money by extinguishing methane flares.
We are talking here about the methane that is burned at the outlet of oil wells because it cannot be transported to civilization. According to Daniel Batten’s calculations, injecting this methane into an electricity generator instead of burning it in flares reduces their CO2 equivalent emissions by 63%.
The reason is that the combustion of methane in a generator is complete. Conversely, flares release 8% of methane, whose greenhouse effect is 80 times greater than carbon dioxide (on a 20-year scale).
In other words, it would be enough for 20% of BTC miners to connect to flares for the Bitcoin network to enjoy a carbon neutral footprint. This figure drops to 3% when it is placed over landfill sites from which 100% of the methane escapes.
Paying taxes in bitcoins?
When asked if France intends to emulate Colorado’s situation, Bruno le Maire replied that “It’s not on the board” :
“Our currency is the euro and it is a condition of our unity that we only have one currency to pay taxes. I don’t see how we could ensure equality before the tax if everyone chose their currency to pay it. »
Hit. Where are we going if everyone could create their own bitcoin pastiche to pay their taxes?
“I say it unequivocally, our currency must remain the euro and bitcoin is not intended to be a large-scale means of payment in the European Union”he added.
That is. Bitcoin doesn’t need permission to be a currency anyway. It does not need to be the only currency in circulation to fulfill its primary role as a store of value.
And then, by the way:
Having said that, and not wanting to play into Bruno Le Maire’s game, his words are an opportunity to ask ourselves if a world with bitcoin as its only currency would be appropriate?
Is the inability to borrow really compatible with a complex civilization that requires massive investments in research and energy infrastructure?
For example, Total recently invested 16 billion euros to create a platform that would be able to pump oil from a depth of 3,500 meters off the coast of Angola. The operation will be able to produce around 13% of France’s current demand for 20 years.
How to raise so much money in a world that only has bitcoin as its currency? Who will agree to block their money for years to finance this project? Will Total have to seek out the French one by one to convince them to lend him their BTC?
Wasn’t the best system after all to have two currencies? One for the economy, the other for saving?
The Mayor and the CBDC Blockchain
We were eagerly awaiting the day Mr. Le Maire would come to serve us the amalgamation between CBDC and Bitcoin.
It is done. The former Minister of Agriculture believes that “The declaration of the euro as the only reference currency should not prevent us from taking advantage of the potential offered by the blockchain”.
“That is why I am following with interest the work of the ECB to design a digital euro »he blurted out. ” I believe in the merits of the blockchain in the service of the euro, not in favor of abandoning bitcoin. »
Words to send shivers down your spine when we know that Bercy recently caused a stir by asking for real-time access to bank statements…
Here’s what we wrote about the CBDC recently:
“The CBDC advertises itself as a programmable currency. Its use would be conditional. The Indian central bank even suggests that it might become perishable :
“CBDs offer the ability to program money and condition its end use. For example, we could ensure that the money from an agricultural loan cannot be spent anywhere other than on input dealers. [semences, pesticides, engrais]. […] We could also encourage consumption by adding an expiry date to money. This programmability can be achieved through the use of smart contracts”. »
The IMF confirms:
Speaking of smart contract, note that the central bank of Norway is leading the CBDC. And surprise, surprise, the peasants are basing themselves on the Ethereum code. All that remains is to exchange cryptographic keys for biometric digital identities. ironic…
What explains Bruno’s bids for ethereum and the end of cash?..
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Journalist reporting on the Bitcoin revolution. My papers deal with bitcoin through geopolitical, economic and libertarian prisms.
