Johan Van Overtveldt, a former finance minister of Belgium and current member of the European Parliament, has called for a ban on cryptocurrencies due to recent turmoil in the banking sector. Van Overtveldt, who is also an economic spokesperson for a group of EU lawmakers, made the statement on Twitter in anticipation of the European Parliament's upcoming vote on crypto licensing rules. He argues that cryptocurrencies are purely speculative and have no economic or social value, comparing them to drugs that should also be banned.
Van Overtveldt is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformers group and led the parliament's efforts to introduce a new law allowing for the trading of securities using distributed ledger technology.