“Cryptocurrencies are dangerous for society”, according to the director of the Rousseau Institute and economist Nicolas Dufrêne

Can these virtual currencies become an alternative?

Yes, in good faith, people think that in addition to being a good investment, they allow society to protect itself against the excesses of the financial system. But these digital assets are worse than the current system. In my opinion, money must be a common good. However, this is not the case for cryptocurrencies and in fact it is quite the opposite. As they do not belong to a State or any entity, they cannot be controlled in a democratic manner. This is why they are particularly supported by libertarian figures, such as Elon Musk (the boss of Tesla and now a member of the Trump administration, Editor’s note), for whom they are a way of weakening States.

With the interest that banks and certain heads of state are starting to show in them, will they end up becoming institutionalized?

Players in the sector have invested heavily in lobbying in Donald Trump’s campaign, which has become its most fervent defender. They seek to legitimize this business to make it indispensable. If it becomes essential, we won’t be able to do without it. However, the more it develops, the more a possible crisis in this very volatile sector will affect the world. Especially since there are more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies in existence today and some of them are scams. Some investors distort the price up or down to make money.

Its users see it as a financial product like any other. Do you agree with this idea?

We still do not know their added value for society. What we do know, however, is that no financial product consumes so much energy and claims to become a currency in its own right. Furthermore, cryptocurrencies are all the more dangerous assets as they are used as a means of laundering money. And because they operate in a decentralized way and are digital, it is very difficult to legislate about them.