Cryptocurrency Should be ‘Outlawed’: Allianz CEO Andreas Utermann

Despite this year’s prolonged cryptocurrency market decline, many mainstream financial institutions and wealth managers have continued to explore how to make this nascent asset class more accessible to their clients. Firms such as Goldman Sachs and Fidelity are building crypto custody products, while exchange giants Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Nasdaq are focusing on futures trading. Don’t expect Allianz Global Investors to add its name to the list anytime soon.

Allianz CEO Unloads on Crypto

Speaking on Tuesday at a panel discussion in London, Andreas Utermann, CEO of Allianz — one of Europe’s largest asset managers — called for markets watchdogs to pursue a scorched earth approach to cryptocurrency regulation, stating that an outright ban was preferable to the “light-touch” frameworks pursued in some corners of the world.

“You should outlaw it”, Utermann said, according to a Reuters report. “I am personally surprised that regulators haven’t…