Pope Leo XIV has used his first encyclical to deliver a stinging critique of modern finance, and cryptocurrencies are squarely in his line of fire.
Released on 15 May 2026, the document positions crypto-driven financial innovation as part of a wider system that risks producing abuses, injustice and economic crisis.
Related: Stormrake CEO says not owning Bitcoin is the real risk, even for retirees
What is Magnifica Humanitas ?
Magnifica Humanitas , meaning "Magnificent Humanity," is the inaugural encyclical letter of Pope Leo XIV.
Its full title is "On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence," and while the headline subject is AI, the document is sweeping in scope.
Across 245 numbered paragraphs, it interrogates technology, economic models, labour, inequality, and the moral foundations of the modern world.
It draws heavily on Catholic social doctrine, citing earlier popes including John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.
Pope Leo XIV released it on Monday and was joined in Vatican City by leading Catholic figures and Christopher Olah, a co-founder of the Claude AI-maker Anthropic . Olah is also head of research on the interpretability of artificial intelligence at Anthropic.
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The Pope's warning on crypto
Paragraph 160 is where the Pope turns his attention to digital assets.
"In recent years, finance has increased in importance and has undergone significant innovation, driven partly by the introduction of cryptocurrencies,"the Pope wrote.
That observation, however, is a setup for a sharp warning.
Quoting his predecessors, Leo XIV writes that when the financial intermediation sector operates "without the necessary anthropological and moral foundations,"it has "not only produced manifest abuses and injustice,"but also proven to have the capacity to create "systemic and worldwide economic crisis."
The deeper concern that the Pope raises is structural. He warns that "income from capital risks" is replacing "income from labour," which confines workers to the margins of the economic system.
He draws a clear line between two kinds of finance. One that serves the real economy and creates jobs, and two, "finance for its own sake," which he says is "fundamentally different."
In paragraph 161, he expands this observation, adding that while the world's wealth has grown, it is "increasingly concentrated in fewer hands."
"Unless transformations at the design stage prioritize the prevention of new and further disparities, technological progress will inevitably produce structural inequalities,"the Pope added.
Although this is the first time Pope Leo XIV has directly addressed crypto, the same isn't true for the Vatican as a whole.
Back in 2021, Yuriy Tykhovlis, a Vatican official within the Holy See's diplomatic and humanitarian apparatus, spoke at a United Nations conference and voiced alarm at "uncontrolled payments through blockchain platforms and the dangerous role that the unregulated use of cryptocurrencies" in the smuggling of migrants.
The Holy See is the central governing authority of the Catholic Church.
Related: How traditional investors can adapt to the crypto revolution
This story was originally published by TheStreet on May 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
