Facebook Crypto: The Japanese central bank is the latest to weigh in on the controversial Facebook Libra project. The bank’s governor called for nations to work together globally to deal with the Libra project. Japan’s central bank governor made the pronouncement at a business leaders’ summit held in Osaka.
The Governor is Suspicious Of Facebook Crypto Coin
According to the governor, Libra could have a major impact on the world if it goes ahead. As a result, he called for regulators globally to come up with the strictest regulation possible for the project. This call echoes similar calls made by other central bankers globally.
For instance, the French Finance minister said that the EU needed to create a common set of rules for the crypto industry. In his opinion, this would help to deal with the risk that the Libra project posed. India has also been quite vocal in its opposition to the project, which might launch as soon as next year.
Japan Wants Crypto Regulated
It is not a major surprise that Japan is so sensitive to crypto projects. After all, it is home to one of the largest disasters in the crypto world. Mt Gox, a crypto exchange, which was operating out of Japan, was hacked in 2014. The hackers managed to steal $450 million worth of Bitcoin from customer accounts. Since then, the nation has always been extra cautious when it comes to projects in the crypto space.
The collapse of the exchange sent shockwaves throughout the crypto world. Since then, Japan has been trying to figure out how to regulate the crypto industry. However, Japan does not seek to eliminate crypto and blockchain technology. The nation recognizes the potential that this technology holds. In this light, they have created some of the best regulation for the crypto world. For instance, the nation has some of the strictest crypto margin trading rules in the world. The rules were created to protect crypto holders from scammers. They will become active from April next year.
Comprehensive Regulation
Since October 2018, the crypto industry in Japan has been operating under a self-regulatory status. However, the nation’s financial watchdog still plans to regulate the industry. The agency announced in November 2018 that it was working on regulation to govern crypto wallet providers in Japan.
For a while, most governments have not taken the idea of crypto regulation seriously. It has been left to government agencies and departments to create a patchwork of rules that are usually confusing at times. However, the Facebook Libra project might have finally pushed regulators to act.
The Libra project is not all bad. However, for it to work, governments and financial regulators are beginning to realize they need to have some control over it. Even the creators of the project have said as much. Unlike other coins, which were created to evade central regulation, Facebook has said they are welcome to the idea of regulation. In the end, this could help to boost the mass adoption of crypto.
If we historically look at any emerging tech, it has always evolved due to working with regulators. At the end of the day, for anything to go “mass adoption” it will have to be regulated to some extent. It’s difficult to see anything go mainstream without this protocol. It’s why the crypto industry has had such a hard time scaling. Aside from Facebook stating they would work with regulators on Libra, Ripple is really the only other company in the crypto space that is working directly with regulators to help aid mass adoption.
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