ECB bitcoin report triggers Crypto Twitter, catches community note

A new report from the European Central Bank (ECB) is drawing considerable criticism from crypto supporters after it described bitcoin fundamentals as “a fantastic condition for snake oil salesmen.”

The report titled ‘ETF approval for bitcoin — the naked emperor’s new clothes’ clarifies the ECB’s position on bitcoin and the approval of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

It opens with the claim that bitcoin has failed as a global decentralized digital currency and states that the latest ETF approvals don’t change its view that it’s “not suitable as means of payment or as an investment.”

The ECB also argues that bitcoin is still “inconvenient, slow, and costly,” and that mining the currency “continues to pollute the environment on the same scale as entire countries.”

Finally, it attempts to explain the currency’s recent upturn, saying that its price is easily manipulated, that authorities have failed in their judgements and measures, and that it has been boosted by use in crime.

Predictably, the report and the ECB’s positions have come under fire from online crypto evangelists.

Not only that, amidst the controversy and (predictable) pushback from Bitcoin supporters, the report’s accompanying X post was also slapped with a community note, claiming that “BTC is not preferable for criminals,” and that Bitcoin is in fact “good for the environment.”

The contradictory community note that soon accompanied the ECB’s tweet.

Read more: KSI’s crypto Twitter return hit with community note warning

ECB bitcoin report upset Crypto evangelists

Not surprisingly, some of Bitcoin’s more vehement supporters haven’t taken the ECB’s latest report lying down and countless tweets flooded the replies on the accompanying tweet. Among this criticism, the ECB was compared to a circus, the euro was branded a fraud, and the entire report was dismissed as ‘FUD.’

Popular sleuth Hsaka placed the ECB’s previous 2022 statement on a timeline of bitcoin’s price, which one X (formerly Twitter) user claimed rose significantly following the statement. However, this form of ‘gotcha’ doesn’t address the ECB’s criticisms that the price of bitcoin is easily manipulated.

Another X user made their feelings clear, posting a tweet that portrayed the ECB as clowns in a circus.

Numerous Bitcoin supporters took to X to point out that the euro has gradually fallen in purchasing power since the year 2000. “Is this you?” asked one user, referring to the graph.

Ryan Selkis, the CEO of crypto analytics firm Messari boldly claimed that, “The euro will be dead in 4-5 years.”

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