Topic: [2017-12-17]US Chief Regulator: Bitcoin Not a Threat to Financial Systems (Read 111 times)

Yes, Bitcoin is still in early days, so a lot of problems have to be solved before it will be able to be used as a currency by most people in the world, but I'm curious if governments will just sit and watch it happen or will try to fight it, or maybe they will try join it? For the last few decades there were attempts to create private electronic currencies, and a lot of them were allowed to operate at first, but then got shutdown by governments when they've started growing bigger.

It seems to me that the fact that bitcoin is not mentioned as the main threat to the financial system because the financiers have not come up with an effective mechanism to combat bitcoin. They don't want to look helpless. After the bitcoin craze will widespread they will destroy bitcoin or we will cease to exist. Two kings doesn't happen.

I think this statement is based on the fact that if cryptocurrencies turn out to be a threat to financial systems in the future, governments can crack down on them and remove crypto's position as a threat. Currently they're watching from afar, because although the price is increasing, the total volume is small in comparison to the fiat going around.

The US chief financial watchdog, the Financial Stability Oversight Board (FSOC), claims that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies do not pose a threat to existing financial systems around the world. In its 152-page report, the FSOC stated that virtual currencies are only utilized by a very small number of consumers and their underlying Blockchain technology offers potential in various industrial applications.

“Virtual currencies are only used by a very small number of consumers. We give a bit more credit to the potentially much broader applications of the so-called distributed ledger technology underpinning the innovations. It is noteworthy that this digital wave also presents a regulatory challenge, because the storage of data is decentralized, rather than being in one spot that governments can watch.”

The report’s view on digital currencies is somewhat surprising due to the negative stance shown by several financial industry personalities. An example is a recent claim by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, that Bitcoin is a ‘fraud’ and should not be taken seriously. The report also cited various monetary threats, geopolitical risks and cybersecurity threats that confront the global financial system. Bitcoin was not cited as a threat.

The source is here...

I am sure that not one in the Bitcoin community would oppose this important report. At lest here, we can find some kind of a balancing act as far as Bitcoin is concerned and is giving more importance to the underlying technology we know as the blockchain. The government should not really be afraid of Bitcoin as it is akin to the internet which should not be censored...in Bitcoin there is no need to demonize the whole thing as the government has the power to pass regulations to weed out scam artists and for them to collect the necessary taxes.