{"id":22429,"date":"2018-03-20T16:51:59","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T16:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ci027cfe7c600326c3"},"modified":"2018-03-20T16:51:59","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T16:51:59","slug":"mark-carney-cryptocurrencies-do-not-pose-serious-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/business\/mark-carney-cryptocurrencies-do-not-pose-serious-risks","title":{"rendered":"Mark Carney: Cryptocurrencies Do Not Pose Serious Risks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When it comes to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England and chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), is known for being a harsh critic. Though Carney has praised the technology behind cryptocurrency in the past, he has often referred to digital money as a \u201cbubble,\u201d claiming it has failed users<\/a> and is \u201cno substitute for cash\u201d or credit cards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time has come to hold the crypto-asset ecosystem to the same standards as the rest of the financial system,\u201d Carney told CNBC<\/a> in early March 2018, further stating that the \u201caverage volatility of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization was more than 25 times that of the U.S. equities market in 2017.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just days ago, Carney proclaimed that illicit activities surrounding cryptocurrencies were causes for major concern, citing everything from personal wallet thefts to terrorist funding, only now, it appears his sentiment has suddenly changed.<\/p>\n

Less than 24 hours before he was scheduled to speak at this year\u2019s G20 meeting, Carney seemingly reversed his stance on digital currencies, saying that they did not pose serious risks to financial stability. Carney and the Board published an official letter<\/a> on March 18, the eve of the summit, stating:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe FSB\u2019s initial assessment is that crypto-assets do not pose risks to global financial stability at this time \u2026 Their small size, and the fact that they are not substitutes for currency and with very limited use for real economy and financial transactions, has meant the linkages to the rest of the financial system are limited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carney, whose term with the Bank of England ends in 2019, also insinuated that whoever succeeds him in the position is likely to run<\/a> a more \u201copen\u201d operation, concentrating more on reviewing current rules and regulations, rather than implementing more strenuous standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs its work to fix the fault lines that caused the financial crisis closes, the FSB is increasingly pivoting away from design of new policy initiatives toward dynamic implementation and rigorous evaluation of the effects of the agreed G20 reforms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The G20 summit began<\/a> on March 19, 2018, and will last through March 21. Several economic leaders are gathering in Buenos Aires to discuss cryptocurrencies and the future of the planet\u2019s financial infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Despite Carney\u2019s newfound attitude toward digital assets, not every nation agrees that cryptocurrencies aren\u2019t hazardous. Some countries, like France, Germany and Japan, are calling for further regulation<\/a>, with the Central Bank of Germany stating that bitcoin should be regulated on a \u201cglobal scale.\u201d France and Germany are allegedly creating a joint proposal for cryptocurrency regulation that representatives will present at this year\u2019s summit.<\/p>\n

Carney, himself, explained that while he is pursuing a more \u201cbalanced approach\u201d toward cryptocurrencies, the financial system will likely mold and change<\/a> as more is understood about them:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe market continues to evolve rapidly, and this initial assessment could change if crypto-assets were to become significantly more widely used or interconnected with the core of the regulated financial system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, it seems most virtual currency advocates have something to celebrate since, aside from his more lenient stance on coins themselves, Carney feels that the technology behind cryptocurrency has the potential to enhance and assist the economy as needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Less than 24 hours before he was scheduled to speak at this year\u2019s G20 meeting, Carney seems to have reversed his stance on digital currencies,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3479,"featured_media":22430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[587,1876,3321,3293],"class_list":["post-22429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-banking","tag-england","tag-g20","tag-mark-carney"],"author_data":{"id":3479,"name":"Nick Marinoff","nicename":"nick-marinoff","avatar_url":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cropped-bitcoin-schmitcoin-promo-image-1-2-96x96.png"},"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mark-carney-cryptocurrencies-do-not-pose-serious-risks.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3479"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}