We’ve got a roundup of the latest news about cryptocurrency regulators around the globe and bitcoin regulations trends you should follow.
Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid says fiat-based currencies are unstable and it’s time to consider cryptocurrencies. His comments make sense when you look at struggling currency values in Venezuela, Argentina and other countries.
The People’s Bank of China’s lead cryptocurrency researcher says implementing a government-backed digital currency would extend financial services to rural areas, reduce costs and improve efficiencies. Uruguay will introduce a six-month test of a digital currency although it took pains to say it is not “bitcoin.”
Noted bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp created a global currency index that shows bitcoin is now the 32nd largest currency at a market cap of $122 billion. Bitcoin ranks just behind Finland and ahead of Singapore and South Africa.
The New York Post says New York regulators are probing ICOs in the light of several recent high-profile ICO scams. Government-owned State Bank of India is working to establish a “Bankchain” consortium of public and private banks supported by blockchain expertise from IBM, Microsoft and Intel.
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Deutsche Bank Strategist Says End of Fiat-based Currency Systems Near, Recommends Bitcoin
Deutsche Bank lead strategist Jim Reid claimed that the current fiat-based currency system is unstable and nearing its end. He claimed that the system was only able to advance to its current state due to the disinflationary shock it experienced in the 1980s. In his recent report, Reid claimed that the fiat system is now in reverse and is expected to affect all the traditional currencies being used around the world. Via cointelegraph.com
PBoC Research Lead: ‘Crucial’ to Issue Central Bank Cryptocurrency Soon
A researcher at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has said it is “crucial” that the country gets a central bank-issued cryptocurrency as soon as possible. According to a report by South China Morning Post, Yao Qian, who leads cryptocurrency research for China’s central bank, explained the importance of introducing digital legal tender at a forum in Beijing, Saturday. Such a move, he said, would help in cutting transaction costs and expanding financial services to rural areas, while also increasing the efficiency of the PBoC’s monetary policies. Via coindesk.com
Uruguay to Launch Digital Currency, “Not Bitcoin” it Stresses
Uruguay announced “a six-month pilot plan for the issuance and use of digital notes of the Uruguayan peso,” in a press release. Registered users will be able to interact with merchants as well as peer-to-peer in money exchanges. Bold, but Treading Lightly “The first issue of digital tickets consists of 20 million Uruguayan pesos, of which 7 million were already transferred to Red Pagos,” the bank declared. Via news.bitcoin.com
Bitcoin is Already More Valuable Than Many National Currencies
According to Jameson Lopp and the clone of the global M1 index he has created, bitcoin is currently ranked 32nd most valuable currency globally, with a market valuation of over $122 billion. The market cap of bitcoin is larger than many of the national currencies like the Singaporean dollar, Malaysian ringgit, Thai Baht, and Brazilian real. Institutional and retail investors have just started to invest in bitcoin and acknowledge it as a digital currency, a safe haven asset, and a robust store of value. Via newsbtc.com
NY investigators probing bitcoin-like currencies worth $3.2B
Wall Street has a new toy — and regulators are warning that some pieces of the popular product can cause your portfolio to choke. The toy is called an Initial Coin Offering, a specialized bitcoin-like digital currency companies are using to raise money — instead of classic stock offerings. So far in 2017, ICOs have attracted $3.2 billion of investor cash — four times the amount raised in 2016. “It’s the Wild West,” Joseph A. Hall, partner at Davis Polk, told The Post. Via nypost.com
India’s Largest Bank Goes Big on Blockchain
Government-owned State Bank of India (SBI) is India’s largest banking corporation with assets over $460 billion. Earlier in February, SBI took the lead to establish ‘Bankchain’, India’s first financial blockchain consortium consisting of India’s biggest banks (both public and private) alongside technology companies including IBM and Microsoft to develop and implement blockchain applications in the financial services industry. SBI is now pressing ahead with its first implementation of the decentralized technology by using an enterprise blockchain solution for managing its Know Your Customer (KYC) system, via a new partnership with Intel that sees the technology giant become the consortium’s official technology advisor. Via cryptocoinsnews.com
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