Stefan Ingves, the governor of Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, does not believe that Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies will be successful in circumventing regulation. He shared his thoughts on June 1, indicating that Sweden could soon crack down on the widely deregulated crypto market. Ingves believes that the rapid growth of the cryptocurrency sector will force financial watchdogs to draw up regulations on cryptocurrencies.
According to him, the vastness of the crypto industry highlights concerns about consumer interests and money laundering. As such, regulators will work on regulation of the budding asset class to address these issues. Erik Thedeen, the head of Finansinspektionen, Sweden’s financial regulator, seconded Ingves, noting that it is quite evident that some form of regulation is needed in the crypto industry.
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The Swedish government is reportedly already working to introduce stricter policies to govern crypto exchanges in the country. According to Asa Lindhagen, Sweden’s minister of financial markets, these policies are being worked on internationally. He added that money laundering is a very important issue that will require the collaboration of governments around the world to address it.
Regulators continue to strive to find ways to govern the crypto space
Crypto regulation continues to be a difficult task for governments around the world. This is mainly due to the decentralized nature of digital assets, which protects the industry against scrutiny from authorities.
Like Sweden, other countries are working to find the best approach to regulate the burgeoning asset class. For example, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve recently said that federal entities need more time to find the best regulatory approach before developing a framework that oversees cryptocurrencies. The EU is also trying to identify ideal ways to deal with the industry.
While Sweden and other countries are trying to find positive solutions, China has settled for a negative approach, hoping to dominate the cryptocurrency sector. The latest move towards crypto regulation saw the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) inform financial institutions that it is illegal to accept crypto as payment. In addition to this, the country also cracked down on cryptocurrency mining.
Although China banned cryptocurrency trading in 2017, it has failed to stop citizens from trying to get their fair share of the crypto pie. Chinese merchants have reportedly been conducting secret crypto operations to avoid legal liability.
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