Topic: [2017-08-26] South African Officials Consider National Cryptocurr. “Too Risky" (Read 3926 times)

rumours about Russia,Estonia now South Africa
every single country dreams about having their own pocket bitcoin,or at least,etherium
what the don't realise is that the community might not adopt it and without any perks that makes it better than bitcoin ,it is doomed to die
I can introduce my own cryptocurrency too,there are plenty altcoins "DIY" sets and they do not cost arm and leg
doesn't mean that it will be successful,so before introducing one think what purpose will it achieve

When countries talk about a national cryptocurrency, I doubt if they are talking about a decentralized, fixed supply one. They will be talking about a digital version of fiat. The Deputy Governor is talking about issuing currency in an open (Decentralized?) system. At least he is thinking on those lines.

I salute the man Mr. Francois Grope (Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank) as having a good grasp of the current digital currency movement. Yes, the problem with a central-bank backed and issued cryptocurrency is that there is no successful model to speak of...there had been some trials but all of them never succeeded and yes can indeed be risky for the government especially if it will just implode.

Instead, they should just treat Bitcoin as a foreign exchange asset just like the inflow of the dollar and other fiat money. Along the way, they can demand some tax for the transactions made and maybe even later imposed income tax on those who are already earning from their Bitcoin and other coins. This can be the win-win formula as implemented in Japan a country which can be a good model they can study, evaluate and use.

Cryptocurrency should not be in the hands of the governmental authorities because they are anathema to each other. Yes, any government can use the blockchain technology to improve their governance but as to the economic and financial sides of the whole thing they should have a semi hands-off stance on that. Hope this country will not make the same mistakes experienced by some authoritarian regimes.

I don't see any reasons for national cryptocurrency - if it will have in-built mechanisms for regulation and centralization, than it won't be as attractive as the real cryptocurrencies, since it won't have any of its defining features. If on the contrary it will be a full decentralized cryptocurrency, than why would people switch to it if Bitcoin and some popular alts are working just fine? I think governments that are interested in cryptocurrencies should just adopt Bitcoin. Would be much better if the whole world agreed on one single coin.

I haven't seen any national crypto currency succeed in the past so I doubt that they could potentially established one that will be fully successful IMHO. And they have made the right decision. If they are pro-crypto, bitcoin/blockchain is a better alternative and just like any countries they should just put a tighter regulations and off they go.

Of course there are risk, but its a risk that Japan and other countries that legalized or even embrace it. This is a revolution that has just started and even they admit it, so are they willing to be left out? I think they should re-consider everything and accept the fact that the world is changing the banking system.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has described the development of national cryptocurrencies as ”too risky” for the central bank to consider. The statement has been made during a period of increasing development of national cryptocurrencies on the part of authoritarian governments.

“For the Central Bank to Issue Virtual Currencies or Crypto-Currencies in an Open System Will Be Too Risky” – Francois Grope, Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank

During a recent keynote address at the 2017 Strate GIBS Fintech Innovation Conference, Deputy governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Francois Grope, has described the possibility of developing a national cryptocurrency as “too risky”.

During his address, Grope acknowledged the immense disruptive potential of bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and the transformations that contemporary fintech technologies are driving upon traditional banking processes. “We are witnessing the disruption of financial services”, Grope stated. “Over the past decade or so, fintech’s attention and publicity has continued to intensify and increase. It is continuing to usher in completely new ways of banking. Developments in the fintech space are part of an evolutionary process driven by innovations… Virtual currencies have the potential of becoming widely adopted. However, for the central bank to issue virtual currencies or crypto-currencies in an open system will be too risky for us. This is something that we really need to think about.”

The statements come at a time of increasing development of national cryptocurrencies and blockchains, particularly on the part of authoritarian governments. In recent months, Belarus, Singapore, Russia, and China have taken significant steps toward the development and issuance of state directed virtual currencies.

Last month, the central bank of Belarus announced the implementation of blockchain technology into its banking sector, and unveiled plans for future applications for blockchain in the nation’s financial system. Belarus’s central bank revealed that blockchain technology will initially be used as the basis of transnational information transfers. “The new mechanism of maintenance of the register of bank guarantees will ensure the mutual access of the economic entities of the states being members of the Eurasian Economic Union [Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia] to the procedures of the government procurements of goods (works, services).” From there, Belarus intends to utilize blockchain technology as the basis for the issuance of securities and the development of the centrally administered national smart contract network. Belarus’s central bank has explicitly stated that it does not intend to utilize the national blockchain for virtual currency transfers.

Read more - https://news.bitcoin.com/south-african-officials-consider-national-cryptocurrencies-too-risky/