CryptoCurrencies or Fiat Money? To Legalize Or Not To Legalize Bitcoin?
Bank of Japan: Digital currencies will never replace fiat money. At least not in the nearest future
"Even though fintech is developing rapidly, we should not expect the domination of digital currencies over fiat money", - the head of Japanese CB, Hiromi Yamaoka.
We are still far away from it. It would change our banking system radically.
Southeast Asia has defined the status of cryptocurrencies
The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines (PhSEC) announced the following on November 21:
"According to the course we've chosen, we will consider virtual currencies as securities, and apply the rules of the Securities Transactions Law to it."
Emilio Aquino also stated: "ICO, depending on the facts and circumstances, can be considered securities. In this case, they cannot be offered without registration with the SEC. "
The Ripple network will be used for instant translations between the UAE and India
The Bank of Ras al-Khaimah has signed an agreement with the blockchain-startup Ripple, which will enable the bank's clients to send instant cross-border payments to the Axis bank customers in India.
This is the second big partnership for Ripple, considering the American Express announcement of the intention to use blockchain RippleNet to make instant payments between customers in Britain and the United States.
Bitcoin Will "Never" be Legalized in Russia, Claims Minister
Russia's minister for communications and massmedia has opined that the country will never allow cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to be legalized.
Speaking to reporters in Moscow on Monday, Russian minister Nikolai Nikiforov claimed the country's laws would never consider bitcoin as a legal cryptocurrency after deeming it a "foreign project." According to TASS, the country's largest news agency wholly owned by the Russian state, Nikiforov stated:
"Bitcoin is a foreign project for using blockchain technology, the Russian law will never consider bitcoin as a legal entity in the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.
The Russian official went on to add that the government was open to digital cryptographic tokens through ICOs and bitcoin's underlying technology, the blockchain. "However, I think that it is quite possible to use blockchain technology and the use of various digital tokens," he added.
In late 2015, Nikiforov publicly spoke toward the "necessity to explore the use of blockchain technology in the best interests of the public." The Russian official claimed the innovation can help both the national economy and "relations between the state and the public."
Nikiforov's aversion to the world's first and most prominent cryptocurrency hasn't stopped the official from revealing the state's intent to issue its own cryptocurrency, dubbed the 'cryptoruble'. The state-issued cryptocurrency will be developed and issued "quickly", Nikiforov said, following a meeting between Moscow's elite and Russian president Vladimir Putin last month.
While Russian authorities have long adopted a hostile stance toward decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ICOs and blockchain technology have seen far less scrutiny. In late October, Putin ordered ministries to develop a regulatory framework for initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrency mining operations in the country. Last week, a senior Russian central bank official threw his support for ICOs, underlining their "huge potential" for financing startups in the country.