Sweden’s Central Bank warns: “Bitcoin is too big to escape regulations”

“When something gets big enough, things like consumer interests and money laundering. Therefore, there is good reason to believe that regulation will occur“

During a recent speech cited by Bloomberg, Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves spoke about fears over the recent popularity of Bitcoin, just as other central bankers have done.

“When something gets big enough, things like consumer interests and money laundering. Therefore, there is good reason to believe that regulation will occur, ”adds Ingves. Erik Thedeen, head of the Swedish financial regulator, said Tuesday that “it is quite evident that some form of regulation is needed.”

Indeed, Sweden’s finance markets minister Asa Lindahagen noted that the Scandinavian country’s government is already “in the process of tightening standards for crypto exchange platforms.” Lindahagen framed the regulation is a “work in progress at the international level”.

He also said that addressing the money laundering risk posed by cryptocurrencies is a “very important issue” that will require cross-border work.

The Central Bank of Sweden is about to launch its digital currency, the ecorona, in a testing phase with a commercial bank. This would make it the third country in the development of a digital currency, after the Bahamas that already has its ‘sand dollar’ operational and China also has its digital yuan in the testing phase since last year.

China, on the other hand, has banned the use of cryptocurrencies in the country’s economy and is also attempting bitcoin mining in the country. In the United States, Federal Reserve officials are studying “the various ways to address this problem,” Randal Quarles, the Fed’s vice president of supervision, said in May.
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