A new ECB chief may become Bitcoin friend

Sustainable growth of cryptocurrencies has made some officials to change their mind about Bitcoin and digital money as a whole. Thus, Christine Lagarde, a former chief of the International Monetary Fund and a nominee to replace Mario Draghi as president of the European Central Bank (ECB) might take a crypto friendly position, which would support the development of the industry.

She mentioned that blockchain technologies should not be dismissed and advocated for state-backed cryptocurrencies =, which is a big step forward for a person in such a position. No wonder that the crypto community was enthusiastic about Laggard's nomination as a head of ECB. Her openness to cryptocurrencies is seen as a good signal for the industry. 

It is worth noting that Laggrd's views have evolved from sharp criticism to mild support. Thus, speaking in the interview with CNBC in April she said that digital assets destabilized the system

"I think the role of the disruptors and anything that is using distributed ledger technology, whether you call it crypto, assets, currencies, or whatever ... that is clearly shaking the system. We don't want to shake the system so much that we would lose the stability that is needed," she commented.

Meanwhile, the outgoing ECB president Mario Draghi said that cryptocurrencies were not currencies, but "highly risky" assets. Thus he distanced the ECB from dealing with cryptocurrencies and creating regulation for them.

BTC/USD is changing hands at $11,456, off the Sunday's low registered at $11,145. However, in the short run, the recovery is capped by $11,600. This barrier is strengthened by the upper line of the 1-hour Bollinger Band. Once it is out of the way, the upside may be extended towards $12,000.

BTC/USD, 1-hour chart