France Hell Bent On Curbing The Use Of Cryptocurrency
The rising popularity of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum among many other has been one of the most debated subjects towards the end of 2017 up to now. However, this growing popularity has attracted negative views from governments of numerous countries. Some have even banned the use of cryptocurrencies and France is the latest country that seems to be headed in that direction.
France is the latest country to reveal that it is planning to take action against cryptocurrency after its Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire recently called for the creation of regulation to govern the trading of cryptocurrency.
The French Minister’s request is most likely a move aimed at preventing the use of cryptocurrency for illegal activities such as funding criminal activity or even tax evasion. He did not release details of what the rules will touch on but there has been speculation that it might involve banning cryptocurrency exchanges.
In his speech pertaining the cryptocurrency issues, Le Maire stated that: “We want a stable economy. We reject the risks of speculation and the possible financial diversions linked to bitcoin,”
France seems to be going down the same road as China which recently banned the mining of cryptocurrencies due to the fact mining cryptocurrency consumes a lot of electricity. The Asian country also banned cryptocurrency mining as part of its overall plan to ban the use of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin which cannot be regulated. Instead, it plans to introduce its own cryptocurrencies which will be regulated by the government. France, on the other hand, seems to be taking an aggressive stance not only against cryptocurrency but also against tax havens. This is all part of the country's plan to compete more effectively with other countries such as China and the U.S.
Numerous other countries across the globe have also expressed their concerns about the use of cryptocurrency especially as the popularity of digital coins and blockchain continues to increase. The concerns mainly revolve around the lack of regulation due to the fact that these cryptocurrencies are decentralized, thus there is no way for governments to exercise control. This opens doors to easy use of cryptocurrency for illegal purposes.
There has also been a lot of concern about scams in cryptocurrency through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). There have been many ICOs, especially in China over the past one year leading to concerns that people might lose their investments through scammers taking advantage of the situation.
Meanwhile, the introduction of regulation against the use of cryptocurrencies by various governments would not be very effective since cryptocurrency and blockchain are a global phenomenon. The only way to go about it is to implement the regulation on a global scale.