Bitcoin has become too big of an asset to escape regulatory frameworks, argued the governor of Sweden‘s central bank – Stefan Ingves. At the same time, the nation’s finance minister confirmed that the country is already looking into implementing tighter rules around cryptocurrency exchanges.
BTC: Too Big Not to Be Regulated
During a recent speech cited by Bloomberg, Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves joined the trend of central bankers commenting on bitcoin amid its recent popularity (and USD value) increase. While most of his colleagues are openly against the primary cryptocurrency and even warn investors about the possibility of losing all of their money, Ingves took a different approach.
In fact, he scratched the hot topic of cryptocurrency regulations and predicted that such legislation is indeed coming.
“When something gets big enough, things like consumer interests and money laundering come into play. So, there is a good reason to believe that regulation will happen.”
It's worth noting, though, that very few countries have proposed any clear regulations on the cryptocurrency market. The US, for example, has struggled for years, and the latest proposals from FinCEN were paused after the Biden administration took control.
Although Europe has also failed to outline proper rules, Swedens financial markets minister, Asa Lindahagen, noted that the government is already “in the process of tightening standards for crypto exchange platforms.” She referred to the initiative as a “work in progress at the international level.”
Central Bankers Against Bitcoin
As mentioned above, global central bankers have been openly bashing the primary cryptocurrency as of late, especially following the massive volatility bitcoin experienced in May.
One of the latest came from Swedens South-West neighbor – Denmark. The governor of Danmarks Nationalbank, Lars Rohde, described the entire industry as a “speculative fad” as “there is no stability and no guarantee from any side” about its value.
His words came shortly after Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, warned current and future investors that they have to be prepared to lose all their money if put in bitcoin.
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, recently dismissed BTCs qualities to serve as a global store of value and medium of exchange due to the high price fluctuations it tends to go through.