Gold Can Alleviate Bitcoin's Regulatory Headaches - European Crypto Exchange
(Kitco News) - Bitcoin’s main challenges remain regulation and lack of legitimacy, which is where gold comes in, according to one major European digital currency exchange.
“Regulation provides us with more legitimacy,” Austria-based Bitpanda GmbH co-CEO Eric Demuth told Bloomberg on Monday. “We’ve wanted to be regulated, but so far have been told that we cannot be.”
Financial regulators are yet to figure out the best way to oversee bitcoin transactions. In the meantime, bitcoin exchanges like Bitpanda are trying to come up with their own rules to boost credibility.
One of the solutions Australian government is looking at is applying gold’s trading rules to cryptocurrencies.
The big worry with digital currencies is money laundering, Austrian Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger said in February.
“Cryptocurrencies are significantly gaining importance in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing,” Loeger said. “That’s an important aspect for the changes we support. We need more trust and more security.”
INTERVIEW: Hold #Gold For Safety, Buy #Bitcoin As Speculation - @Goldmoney's @JoshCrumb | by @annagolubova | https://t.co/ZXmZALyyES pic.twitter.com/Uj7RFMCdYC
— Kitco NEWS (@KitcoNewsNOW) March 11, 2018One of the suggestions is to use similar rules as with precious metals trading, which require bitcoin traders to identify their counterparties and to report all transactions above 10,000 euros ($12,300) to the financial intelligence unit, Loeger specified.
And bitcoin exchanges seem to be all for it. More than that, Bitpanda is working on establishing even closer ties with the government to improve transparency and credibility of bitcoin trading.
But, Bitpanda wants to see “regulation come from the EU level,” said the other co-CEO Paul Klanschek.
By Anna GolubovaFor Kitco News
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agolubova@kitco.comwww.kitco.com Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.