On April 28, 2025, the current Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former head of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, led the Liberal Party to a landslide victory in the Canadian election, becoming Canada's 24th Prime Minister.
Note: After former Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau officially resigned on March 13 this year, Carney immediately took the oath of office as Canada's 24th Prime Minister in the same week as the new leader of the Liberal Party. However, since Carney took office without an election, he chose to hold an early election to obtain formal authorization from voters and establish his political legitimacy.
This economist, known for addressing the global financial crisis, has made a dramatic transition from the central bank's ivory tower to the Canadian political arena. Carney's victory was partly due to the surge in anti-Trump sentiment and his promise to position Canada as a global leader in emerging technologies.
However, for the cryptocurrency community, Carney's election raises an urgent question: How will his cautious and even critical attitude towards Bitcoin and decentralized finance shape the future of cryptocurrencies in Canada?
Career Forged in Crisis
Mark Carney's path to becoming Prime Minister is both unconventional and admirable. Born in Smiths Falls, Northwest Territories, Canada, and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, he is deeply rooted in Canadian soil, but his career has spanned the globe. Carney holds economics degrees from Harvard University and a doctorate from Oxford University. His career began at Goldman Sachs, where he worked for 13 years in New York, London, and Tokyo, accumulating experience in navigating complex financial systems.
In 2003, Carney joined the Bank of Canada as deputy governor; in 2008, at 42, he was appointed governor, leading Canada through the global financial crisis successfully. He introduced innovative policies such as emergency loan mechanisms and forward guidance rates, protecting the Canadian economy from the most severe impacts. In 2013, he became the first non-British governor of the Bank of England, managing the chaos of Brexit and the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. His calm and data-driven leadership style earned him the nickname "rock star of the central banking world," a title that followed him back to Canada.
After leaving the central bank, Carney transitioned to roles that balanced financial and social impact, becoming chairman of the transformation investment division at Brookfield Asset Management and serving as the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. In 2024, he began providing economic growth advice to then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, paving the way for his political ambitions.
In January 2025, Trudeau resigned due to plummeting support rates and threats of trade wars with the US. Carney seized the opportunity, winning the Liberal Party leadership with an impressive 85.9% of votes. His campaign, focused on countering Trump's tariffs and strengthening Canadian sovereignty, deeply resonated with citizens anxious about external pressures.
Carney's Cautious Attitude Towards Cryptocurrencies: Central Bank Perspective
Mark Carney's view on cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, is deeply rooted in his decades of experience as a central banker. In his perspective, the stability of the financial system and centralized control of monetary policy are the cornerstones of economic execution, and decentralized cryptocurrencies challenge this framework. As early as 2018, Carney explicitly pointed out the "serious flaws" of Bitcoin during a speech at the Scottish Economic Conference.
Here is the English translation:He believes that Bitcoin's fixed supply of 21 million coins will lead to deflationary tendencies, making it difficult to serve as a stable store of value or reliable medium of exchange. During a Q&A session at the University of London, he further elaborated: "Bitcoin has almost completely failed in the functions of traditional currency." He specifically criticized its price volatility, pointing out that Bitcoin's price plummeted from nearly $20,000 to below $3,000 between 2017 and 2018, highlighting its unsuitability as a daily transaction tool.
Carney's criticism extends beyond Bitcoin's technical deficiencies to its social and economic impacts. In a 2018 Bloomberg interview, he stated that Bitcoin's anonymity makes it a breeding ground for money laundering and illegal transactions, threatening the financial system's integrity. He warned that the uncontrolled expansion of the cryptocurrency market could trigger systemic risks similar to the out-of-control derivatives market before the subprime crisis. Additionally, Carney expressed concerns about the rise of stablecoins. In a 2021 speech to the Bank for International Settlements, he noted that stablecoins supported by tech giants (like Facebook's planned Libra) could disperse monetary system liquidity and potentially undermine national central banks' monetary sovereignty. He argued that stablecoins' centralized nature - controlled by a few corporations - not only fails to solve the volatility issues of decentralized cryptocurrencies but also introduces new governance risks.
[The translation continues in this manner, maintaining the original structure and meaning while translating to English.]Trump: The Opposite of Crypto-Friendly
Trump's second term starting January 2025 surprisingly shifted to support cryptocurrencies. He signed an executive order banning US CBDC while establishing a Bitcoin strategic reserve, in stark contrast to his first term. Trump supports cryptocurrencies as a tool against inflation, igniting enthusiasm among the US crypto community. His policy directly opposes Carney's stance, potentially creating a rift in Canada-US relations.
While Carney advocates for centralized control and CBDC, Trump embraces decentralization, potentially attracting crypto investments to the US. Canadian crypto startups, already facing strict regulations, might find the US more appealing. Moreover, Trump's tariff and acquisition threats dominated Canadian political discourse, overshadowing domestic issues like crypto regulation. Carney's focus on countering Trump's economic aggression might leave little room for developing nuanced crypto policies, further reinforcing a conservative stance.
Justin Trudeau: Continuity and Transformation
Carney's predecessor Trudeau similarly held a skeptical attitude towards cryptocurrencies. In 2022, he criticized Poilievre's crypto-friendly platform as "reckless". The Trudeau government prioritized CBDC development and froze crypto transactions during the 2022 truck drivers' protest to suppress protest funding. Carney's views align closely with Trudeau's CBDC position, but his global financial experience and governance style set him apart.
Trudeau's crypto policies were reactive, driven by political crises, while Carney's might be more proactive, rooted in his central bank philosophy. His emphasis on artificial intelligence and technology suggests a more strategic approach to digital finance, potentially integrating blockchain into government services while maintaining a distance from decentralization. However, unlike Trudeau, who spent years as a parliamentarian, Carney lacks elected political experience and might be less sensitive to public sentiment, especially among young Canadians supporting crypto policies.
Long Road Ahead: Balancing Innovation and Control
With Carney leading the Prime Minister's Office, his cryptocurrency policy might reflect his broader governing philosophy: cautious, prudent, and prioritizing stability. His skepticism towards Bitcoin and decentralized finance, stemming from his central bank background, signals stricter regulation and CBDC advancement for the Canadian crypto industry. However, his commitment to technological leadership opens doors for blockchain innovation, provided it aligns with government priorities.
For the Canadian crypto community, the challenge lies in promoting decentralization within a regulated environment. Carney's global perspective and crisis management expertise make him a powerful leader, but his top-down approach might conflict with crypto's bottom-up spirit. As one X user noted: "Digital finance will soar, decentralization will struggle?" The question isn't whether Carney will shape Canada's crypto future - he will - but whether he can balance innovation and control.
Compared to Trump's crypto-friendly policies and Trudeau's reactive measures, Carney's vision is both ambitious and cautious, a technocratic blueprint for the technological era. Whether this vision will enhance Canada's tech leadership or stifle its crypto potential remains to be seen. Currently, global attention is focused on Carney, the crisis-managing banker, facing his greatest challenge yet: leading Canada through the uncharted waters of trade wars, technological revolution, and digital finance.
