Riksbank Governor Sees Good Reason to Believe Regulation of Crypto Will Happen

Regulation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is looking more likely as they become more mainstream, according to the governor of Sweden's central bank.

• “When something gets big enough, things like consumer interests and money laundering come into play,” Stefan Ingves said Monday, according to a Bloomberg report. "So there's a good reason to believe that [regulation] will happen."
• Regulation will develop at different speeds in different markets, he said.
• Finance minister Asa Lindhagen has said that addressing money-laundering risk will require cross-border work, suggesting there will have to be some degree of international cooperation.
• Sweden's government is in the process of tightening standards for cryptocurrency exchanges, Lindhagen said, but labelled this "a work in progress at the international level."
• The Nordic country is also among the most advanced economies in the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Apart from China, Sweden is the only major country whose plans for a CBDC have progressed from discussion and research to testing.

Read more: Sweden’s Central Bank to Test Digital Currency With Handelsbanken