Ukrainian Central Bank Adamant Bitcoin Can’t be Considered Real Currency. The last couple of months have opened up heated debates whether or not Bitcoin can be considered as a viable currency that could be legally recognized. Some countries in the world, like Japan, for example, have recognized Bitcoin as a legal method of payment. At the same time, some other countries like China, have banned Bitcoin and other digital currencies altogether. Even though this debate has been going for a long time, rarely any side had a clear position about this issue.
Ukraine Siding with Bitcoin Opponents
The latest country that picked a side in this debate is Ukraine. A couple of days ago, the Ukrainian Central Bank officials stated that despite all the positive developments Bitcoin has been displaying in the last seven or eight years, it still cannot be considered a viable currency in the financial market. However, that goes completely against what Japan’s central bank has been saying or what the Russian authorities are planning to do.
Not only the Ukrainian Central Bank rejects accepting Bitcoin as an official currency or a method of payment but it also does not recognize this digital currency as a medium of exchange. This means that according to those officials, it is not allowed to trade Bitcoin on exchanges. Oleg Churiy, who is currently the Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, has said that Bitcoin cannot be considered a currency because there is no central institution that issues that currency and thus, there are no guarantees in places.
However, one of the biggest advantages of Bitcoin and other digital currencies in the world is the fact that they are decentralized. That means that there are no institutions that could potentially have the full control of those digital currencies like it is the case with the standard currencies. Besides that, Bitcoin and other digital currencies eliminate the role of the middleman that banks are playing when it comes to the standard currencies and because of that, it is understandable that banks will be speaking against digital currencies.
Big Banks Across the Globe Against Cryptos
Oleg Churiy’s statement resembles the one from the U.S. officials who asserted that Bitcoin is currently a very risky investment for the investors and that it is often being used in fraud cases. Yet, unlike some officials of other countries, Churiy downplayed the concerns about these digital currencies. He stated that regulators from all over the world are actually not that worried about the rise of Bitcoin because all digital currencies together take up only a small volume of the financial market.
According to Churiy, those regulators are mostly concerned about the people who can lose money. However, the share of digital currencies in the global financial market has grown significantly in the last couple of years. Because of that, some regulators are worried but not to the extent of taking some actions. But if the rising trend of cryptocurrencies continues in the upcoming period, it is expected that many countries will be introducing regulations that would limit the potential of those digital currencies in general.
Written by Ivan Potocki
