03/07/2018
Crypto Ban Would Be a Mistake, EU Policy Makers Are Told
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Crypto Ban Would Be a Mistake, EU Policy Makers Are Told
By David Cullinan - July 3, 2018
EU crypto ban would be a mistakeA report provided by the Policy Department for Economic, Scientific, and Quality of Life Policies has warned EU policymakers against any attempt at a crypto ban, saying that such a move would be a mistake.
The report, titled Virtual currencies and central banks monetary policy: challenges ahead, refers to previous shortcomings of private money, but acknowledges that the technological properties of virtual currencies such as bitcoin, make it “relatively safe, transparent, and fast.”
Disregarding national borders
The anonymous and trans-border elements admittedly pose a challenge that financial regulators will have to face, however.
“Unlike their 18th and 19th-century paper predecessors, VCs are used globally, disregarding national borders,” the report documented.
Due to the decentralized and apolitical nature of virtual currencies, it’s not expected that they’ll be going anywhere soon, with authors of the report, Marek Dabrowski, and Lukasz Janikowski both imploring economists not to downplay the potential and importance of this new technology.
“The economists who attempt to dismiss the justifications for and importance of VCs, considering them as the inventions of ‘quacks and cranks,’ a new incarnation of monetary utopia or mania, fraud, or simply as a convenient instrument for money laundering, are mistaken,
“Policymakers and regulators should not ignore VCs, nor should they attempt to ban them,”
The report points out that when the “global, trans-border character” of virtual currencies is taken into account, any attempts to enforce a crypto ban would almost certainly result in failure, and that both approaches are “incorrect.”
Harmonize regulations
Rather than fight against the rise of cryptocurrencies, the report suggests taxation on a similar level as other financial assets face, and an attempt to “harmonize” regulations across the board.
The EU approved a new anti-money laundering directive only last week, which target cryptocurrencies specifically in an attempt to track services and shine more of a spotlight on anonymous users.
The report also addressed claims by Bitcoin Foundation co-founder Jon Matonis that the cryptocurrency could “pop the real bubble” that has been created by central banks when it said there is not much of a chance that Bitcoin could pose any real threat.
