Bitcoin Won't Cause Lehman-Style Meltdown, Says MAS Fintech Chief

The fintech chief at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country's de facto central bank, has said that bitcoin is unlikely to cause a global financial meltdown similar to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in 2008.

Speaking in an interview with Channel News Asia, MAS chief fintech officer Sopnendu Mohanty said that he does not foresee a bitcoin price collapse triggering a major financial crash, adding there are indications that global regulators are "getting serious" about the cryptocurrency market.

Mohanty said:

"We know exactly when to intervene, based on the market size and the demand and transaction volume, and we will come in at the right time. So, I'm not overly worried about getting to some large financial system crisis."

The fintech head further stated that regulators would come forward to apply regulation on consumer protection amidst hype in the digital currency market.

MAS has made several statements on cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings in recent months.

In December 2017, citing the recent "speculative" escalation in prices across the crypto markets, the monetary authority released a statement advising the public to take "extreme caution" if investing in digital currencies.

And the previous month, MAS issued guidance on the application of securities laws when it comes to initial coin offerings (ICOs).

It stated at the time that tokens sold through the ICO model may be considered securities under certain circumstances, according to Singapore's Securities and Futures Act and the Financial Advisers Act.

Its report included case studies, including a token tied to a computing power-sharing platform (which wouldn't count as a security) and another of on a token connected to a startup investment fund (which would count as a security).

Lehman Brother image via Wikimedia Commons