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Support for blockchain technology is stronger in both the United States and abroad
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Enthusiasts of cryptocurrency and blockchain were enthusiastic about this week's announcement that President Donald Trump intended to nominate the director of the budget and administration of Mick Mulvaney, long a supporter of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, as his head of state. major of the White House before the end of the year. As a congressman, Mulvaney was a co-founder of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus.
When it comes to actually embracing cryptocurrencies, the United States has been generally skeptical. As a recent article on the Harvard Business Review of the Jones Day law firm, initiative blockchain, leaders Stephen J. Obie and Mark W. Rasmussen noted:
"Without clear rules, the innovation of cryptocurrencies in the US is being stifled.The entrepreneurs sit on the sidelines for fear of innocently blaming the law Investors, meanwhile, are stuck due to uncertainty about the valuations. the commonwelt suffers, while other countries attract innovators away from the United States by creating rules that make their jurisdictions more hospitable to this growing asset class. "
This was one of the arguments put forward by Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Pierce in his July dissent by a SEC decision that refused permission to create a Bitcoin-based exchange-traded product (ETP), a security that tracks the value of the cryptocurrency. He wrote that the decision "precludes[es] the approval of cryptographically based ETPs for the foreseeable future "and" demonstrates a skeptical view of innovation, which can have a negative effect on investor protection, efficiency, competition and the formation of capital far beyond this particular product. "
Which does not mean that the United States is alone in avoiding serious decisions on the regulation of cryptocurrencies. A June 2018 report by members of the US Congress from the Library of Congress, "Cryptocurrency Regulations Worldwide," noted that "cryptocurrencies have become omnipresent over the last four years, pushing more national and regional authorities to try their hand at their regulations ", but continues to emphasize (and map in detail) that the ways governments are facing them vary wildly.
And indeed, the United States is grappling with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who claim that cryptocurrencies like bitcoins and ether should be treated as commodities or securities, respectively, by the authorities of regulation. Then there is the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the US Treasury Department, which considers them a currency, and the IRS, which considers cryptocurrencies as property. Several states, such as New York (which regulates cryptocurrency exchanges) and Ohio (which has just announced it wants to accept Bitcoin for taxes) have their own rules.
On the other hand, the United States supports the creative uses of the distributed ledger technology (DLT) industry at the base of the blockchain quite well. Agencies, including the general services administration and the department for internal security have announced blockchain technology programs, according to the Washington Business Journal. While observing that many states have focused on investor warnings and financial regulation of cryptocurrencies, a Brookings Institute report from April 2018 found that several, including Delaware, Illinois, and Colorado, worked to bring blockchain technology. in the provision of government services. And West Virginia even experimented with the use of the blockchain in the 2018 election.
In the private sector, US companies like IBM and JPMorgan Chase are creating blockchain tools that allow companies like Walmart to track food through the supply chain and insurers like Aetna and UnitedHealthcare to keep potentially safe but shared health information, among other uses.
Europe pushes forward
Among the governments that adopt a more coordinated approach is Switzerland, which this month has directed the government agencies to update their legal system to embrace the cryptocurrencies. On 7 December, the Swiss Federal Council, a seven-member body, which is the highest executive authority in the country, approved a report stating that "Switzerland's legal framework is well suited to new technologies, including blockchain", according to a press release "The Federal Council … wants to create the best possible framework conditions so that Switzerland can establish itself and develop itself as a leading, innovative and sustainable position for the fintech and blockchain companies".
Noting concerns about money laundering and terrorist financing using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the Federal Council mandated the Federal Department of Finance and the Federal Department of Justice and Police to draw up a draft proposal by the end of 2019 legal adjustments required several areas, including civil and insolvency law, the law on financial and banking markets and the anti-money laundering law.
Malta, the smallest member of the EU, was the most aggressive supporter of cryptocurrency in Europe, having already implemented a regulatory framework. In March, he approved a trio of laws that regulate Ledger's technology and cryptocurrencies, including the Virtual Financial Currencies Act, which came into effect on November 1st. The objective of the act, according to the Malta Financial Services Authority, is "to achieve investor protection, market integrity and financial stability through proportionate regulation and that supports innovation and new technologies "as well as" ensure that money laundering and terrorist risk financing in this area are addressed ".
Together with Malta, small nations such as Lichtenstein, as well as the British territories of Bermuda and Gibraltar, have placed the welcome carpet for cryptocurrency startups, offering legislation to support start-ups and the first offers of coins, according to theNew York Times. Another state of the EU, Estonia, has aggressively granted cryptocurrency licenses and portfolio providers, Bitcoin.com reported in November.
And while he focused his observations on security and fraud issues, the CEO of the International Monetary Fund in February told CNNMoney that cryptocurrency regulation is "inevitable" and is "clearly a domain in which we need international regulation. and adequate supervision ".
The EU is more decisive on the blockchain front. On 13 December the European Parliament issued a resolution calling on the European Commission to develop a strategy for the adoption of blockchain technologies in the areas of trade, supply chain management and intellectual property, as well as developing "a set of guiding principles for blockchain application to international trade, in order to provide industry, customs authorities and regulators with a sufficient level of legal certainty that encourages the use of blockchain and innovation in this area. "
It also calls for the EU and its member states "to play a leading role in the blockchain standardization and security process, and to work with international partners and all stakeholders and industries to develop blockchain standards". The goal, he adds, is for the EU "to become a major player in the field of blockchain and international trade".
As the Modern Consensus stated at the beginning of this month, Malta has positioned itself as "Blockchain Island" in Europe and led an announcement by seven Southern European states – France, Italy, Spain, Greece , Portugal and Cyprus – a "Vision to make Southern Europe a leader in emerging technologies, such as Distributed Ledger Technologies … that can help our countries transform their economies and societies into digital reality and become a leading region in this sector ".
Asia skeptical about cryptocurrencies but bullish on blockchain
The picture is a bit muddy in Asia, which was the main hub of mining cryptocurrency and trade. At the end of 2017, China has become particularly tough, banning the exchange of cryptocurrencies and the first offers of coins, but remains in love with blockchain technology. President Xi Jinping wants the blockchain technology used in creating a smart city for the economic zone of Xiongan New Area, and half a dozen major cities including Shanghai and Guangzhou have official policies that encourage the development of blockchain, according to a report Abacus News in China November. Shenzen has come to the point of creating a 500 million yuan ($ 72 million) blockchain investment fund. And technology giants like Alibaba and Tencent are investing in DLT technology for uses such as health and logistics monitoring.
While cryptocurrencies are extremely popular in South Korea, the government takes a different view by banning the initial offerings of coins. In July, the Financial Services Commission set up a temporary financial office for innovation to "help cultivate the fintech Korean industry, mostly covering cryptocurrencies and the nation's blockchain technology",Korea Times reported. Since then, the government has been under increasing pressure to develop regulations governing the initial exchange of currencies and cryptocurrency exchanges from the legal community and industry, the CoinDesk cryptographic news site reported in November.
South Korea takes a much more aggressive stance towards the non-cryptocratic uses of blockchain and distributed accounting technology, with several government agencies actively promoting the use of technology in a variety of logistics-related activities. In June, the Business Korea news site reported that the Ministry of Science and ICT launched a blockchain initiative consisting of "six pilot projects included[ing] management of livestock history, personal customs clearance, simple real estate transactions, online voting, international distribution of electronic documents and maritime logistics. "
Japan, which has seen several huge thefts of hacking from exchanges of cryptocurrencies: only two, of millions of tons. Gox in 2014 and Coincheck Inc. in 2018, represented about $ 1 billion of cryptocurrencies traded lost in 2017. The country's financial services agency stepped forward in October, approving the creation of a car cryptocurrency organization -regulating, the Japanese virtual currency Exchange Association, according to Reuters. It has been given the power to "set up rules to safeguard customers' assets, prevent money laundering and provide operational guidelines," the news agency said. "The association will also have to respect the police".
In terms of the adoption of the blockchain, Japan is a leader. "Japan is trying to become the Blockchain hub of the world," noted the research agency ResearchandMarkets.com in a report this summer, "Japan Blockchain Technology Market (2018-2023)" [purchase required]. "For the industries, the Blockchain market in Japan is divided into banking and financial services, insurance, supply chain management and health care.The banking and financial services hold the largest market share."
For example, Japan's Strategic Business Innovator Group (SBI) raised a $ 460 million AI and Blockchain Fund this summer, according to Forbes. In September, the Financial Times noted that three Japanese banks have launched a blockchain-based domestic payment system, MoneyTap, created by a partnership between SBI and Ripple in the United States.
In November, the Monetary Authority of Singapore presented a proposal for payment of payments to the Parliament, seeking to create a framework for the regulation and licensing of cryptocurrencies and e-wallets, as well as to safeguard consumers, improve security computer science and preventing terrorist financing, according to theStraits Times. The city-state government is an aggressive supporter of blockchain technology and has considerable private investment in technology. At the beginning of this month, the official Enterprise Singapore agency joined the company VC Trive Ventures, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Venture Hub of Singapore and South
Korea & # 39; s Icon Foundation launched Tribe Ventures, a blockchain accelerator, according to the Straits Times.
In Vietnam, the report of the six month US Congress Library classifies as "all activities involving cryptocurrencies", the prime minister reportedly told "government agencies to prepare a draft for the country's first digital legal framework" According to a December 18 Newswire article of the AI & Blockchain Malta Summit.
In India, the news site Quartz India reported that a group of finance ministers plan to publish a draft report as well as a "bill on virtual currencies, the use of ledger technology distributed in (il) financial system and digital currency framework in India, "as soon as this month. This is due to a lawsuit filed by a number of cryptocurrency grants following an April order by the Reserve Bank of India, which granted the banks three months to terminate trade relations with the cryptocurrency trade.
The Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf has been a long-standing hotbed of blockchain activity, but cryptocurrency regulation is a recent and ongoing problem. Last year, the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Authority, one of the United Arab Emirates, published the guidelines for the regulation of initial crude and coin offerings, as reported by CNBC. In October, the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority of the United Arab Emirates issued detailed rules for initial token offers to be promulgated by law by mid-2019, according to Gulf News. The cryptocurrencies will be classified as securities and the Authority is helping the stock exchanges in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to prepare for trading, he added.
The central bank of the Persian Gulf State of Bahrain is another supporter of proactive regulation, and on December 13 issued a draft licensing rules and supervision of cryptocurrencies, according to the Bahrain news agency. He cited Khalid Hamad, executive director of banking supervision, saying: "This regulatory framework will address market demand for these services and the need to recognize this innovation in financial services as well."
Dubai has worked not only to adopt the blockchain, but to weave technology into the daily management of the Emirate for several years. Collaborating with the official Smart Dubai agency, IBM announced the launch of the Dubai Blockchain platform in October. Among the first uses of the blockchain-as-a-service platform will be the Dubai Pay Blockchain Settlement and Reconciliation System that the government and the financial industry launched in September.
Calling Dubai "a pioneer of blockchain technology since its inception", said in the statement, Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, general manager of Smart Dubai Office, "[ad_2]Source link
