On that front, Bloomberg reports that ECB President Christine Lagarde has taken aim at Bitcoin’s role in facilitating criminal activity, saying “For those who had assumed that it might turn into a currency -- terribly sorry, but this is an asset and it’s a highly speculative asset which has conducted some funny business and some interesting and totally reprehensible money-laundering activity,” Her statement comes as German police took down what they believe was the world’s largest illegal “Darknet” marketplace. They shuttered a platform that about half a million people used to trade drugs and cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin. This shines focus on the fact Central banks, including the ECB, are increasingly focused on developing their own digital currencies as an official alternative to cash for the digital age.