Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, is about to become the next Prime Minister of Canada. However, his rise does not seem to be good news for Bitcoin (BTC), as he has been a constant critic of cryptocurrencies.
On March 9, Carney won a resounding victory with 85.9% of the vote, and is expected to take office in the coming days.
Carney, a Bitcoin skeptic at the helm of Canada
Carney will take over from Justin Trudeau, who resigned in January 2025 after almost a decade in power. While he has never been an MP, his record at managing economic crises and his global reputation have led him to strong support in the Liberal Party.
But his premiership could serve as a major dampener for the crypto space; through the years, Carney was openly after Bitcoin and other a decentralized digital currencies. His stance was consolidated during his tenure at the Bank of England and he has held firm ever since.
“Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, a well-known critic of Bitcoin, previously called it an asset with serious shortcomings,” said X EdGeraldX.
Carney argued in the 2018 speech on the Future of Money that Bitcoin has ‘serious shortcomings’; a fixed supply makes it unstable in price. Furthermore, he claimed, the programmed scarcity of BTC has given way to uncontrolled speculation and the profusion of new cryptocurrencies.
He also compared Bitcoin to a “criminal act of monetary amnesia”, arguing that recreating a digital gold standard is a historical mistake. According to Carney, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies do not meet the essential criteria of money, such as stability and ease of use in transactions.
In 2018, he went as far as to warn that unless now already controlled, Bitcoin could be a threat to financial stability, pushing for strict regulations to counter the possibility of money laundering and terrorist financing.
Carney supports CBDCs and does not view Bitcoin as a bonus.
For his part, Mark Carney does not shun the idea of CBDCs, but he continues supporting central bank digital currencies. His position is similar to that of regulators in countries such as India, who see CBDCs as a key tool for expanding financial access and strengthening control over the economy.
“Carney calls Bitcoin’s fixed supply a crime, supports CBDCs, and now controls the policy of a $1.9 trillion economy,” one user commented on X.
Carney’s views on Bitcoin are as strict as or stricter than those of his predecessor. In September 2022, Justin Trudeau harshly criticized Pierre Poilievre, a pro-crypto politician who took over the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Impact on crypto regulation in Canada
Carney comes to power at a key moment for the Canadian economy, marked by trade tensions with the United States. President Donald Trump has reimposed a 25% tariff on Canada, after having temporarily suspended it in February.
His anti-Bitcoin stance could lead to stricter regulations on cryptocurrencies, focusing on anti-money laundering and investor protection measures. This could have a direct impact on investments in crypto ETFs in Canada, including Bitcoin ETF by BlackRock or Solana ETF by 3iQ, thereby stifling their growth in the country. With the arrival of Carney into office, one other serious challenge for the crypto industry in Canada arises. Is it the dawn of more intense scrutiny aimed at Bitcoin?
