Two big recent stories present more signs that crypto is speeding up its pace when it comes to reaching out to a wider user base.
Two big recent stories present more signs that crypto is speeding up its pace when it comes to reaching out to a wider user base. This can only be good news for CFD traders who use crypto markets to find underlying assets, whether that might be the prices of the digital coins themselves or as forex pairs twinned with other currencies.
One of the latest moves has seen the Swiss Parliament vote in favor of crypto regulations and the other has involved the former Secretary-General of NATO, and also former Prime Minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen join blockchain project Concordium as a strategic adviser.
Switzerland moves on crypto
Switzerland has a long-held reputation as a banking and financial power, so it is perhaps no surprise that it is one of the first countries to witness its politicians making positive moves to accept the realities of the popularity of cryptocurrencies. The lower house of parliament recently voted in favor of introducing cryptocurrency regulations, albeit on a narrow result.
The proposals under consideration stated that cryptocurrency trading platforms should be accepted as financial companies, which would make them liable to be policed by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma), which is the country’s top financial regulator. This recognition would go a long way towards enabling a wider acceptance of crypto.
The proposed regulations that were put forward by Giovanni Merlini will go forward for consideration by the Council of States, which is the parliament’s upper house. One of Merlini’s arguments was that as cryptocurrencies can currently be used by criminals and as part of various money laundering schemes, they should not be left unregulated.
Crypto-friendly
At the present time, Switzerland is actually considered to be one of the most crypto friendly countries, with the so-called “Crypto Valley” in Zug acting as a hub for activity. In November last year, the local trains service even introduced the option for travelers to pay with Bitcoin for tickets costing up to USD 500. Digitec Galaxy is the largest e-commerce retailer in the country, and it has already announced it will accept crypto payment in Bitcoin and also Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Ethereum, XRP, Binance Coin, Litecoin, Tron, OmiseGo and NEO.
Elsewhere in Europe, most of the major financial centers, including the UK, France, Germany and also Russia, are looking likely to introduce some form of cryptocurrency regulations as financial bodies look towards bringing digital coin, blockchain and other fintech related services and products under centralized regulatory regimes.
Former Prime Minister and NATO head joins Blockchain Project
Another major sign that the world of crypto is becoming more accepted by mainstream politicians and public figures is the news that former Danish Prime Minister and head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Anders Fogh Rasmussen has joined new Blockchain project Concordium.
Rasmussen, who will act as a strategic adviser to the startup, announced the move on Twitter and the company’s own statement said: “Anders will play a pivotal role in our global expansion plans to move into areas that require a blockchain solution for secure and private communications, as well as liaising with governmental departments that will benefit from its implementation. Our network will support tamper-proof voting systems to protect the institutions of civil society, which are fundamental to the functioning of democracy.”
Chairman of Concordium and Co-founder of Denmark-based Saxo Bank, Lars Seier Christensen, who was quoted in the statement that had previously announced that the current Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Volvo Car AB Lone Fønss Schrøder will become the company’s CEO. Schrøder is also currently on the board of INGKA Holding (IKEA) and Aker Group.
Concordium
Concordium’s whitepaper says that a public beta for developers will be launched in July 2019 and the project will develop a blockchain network that is identity-validating, regulatory compliant and is “designed to provide both a solid store of value and the global backbone for keeping track of the world’s transactions.”
The Concordium Network also intends to invite other blockchain networks to work towards developing common standards for software verification in the sector. The company said: “We propose setting up a shared Blockchain Engineering Task Force (BETF) that will work to create shared standards, starting with formal verification practices, exactly like the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) has done for the internet with standards such as HTML, DNS, IP, CSS, Java-script, MIME, URLs, RSS and XML.”
Trading futures
CFD traders may see these two separate pieces of news as important in themselves but wonder how they might be connected or what relevance they have to future trading environments. The truth is that they both serve as further confirmation, if any were needed, that the world of crypto is increasingly being drawn into the mainstream to greater and greater degrees. Whether that might be in terms of coming under the scrutiny of politicians and official regulatory bodies, or by pulling in high profile business and political leadership individuals to work within the sector, all of these developments point towards a very healthy future for crypto.
For CFD traders who choose crypto assets to take trading positions on, this can only be good news, as increased volumes and wider awareness go hand in hand and this, in turn, creates more opportunities for trading and more movements within the markets themselves.