“Whatever Your Position on Regulation, the Industry Must Recognize it as Inevitable”, Ex-Blockchain Strategy Lead JP Morgan
The world of bitcoin is still in its early stage of development. There is a lack of regulations, the market seems to be highly manipulated by the big whales present in the game, and nothing can be said regarding bitcoin’s future just yet. Although initially, cryptocurrencies were largely driven by their use-cases in negative activities but now, more and more institutions and organizations are looking to explore the prospects presented forward by them. With that questions regarding regulations and manipulation are being raised in the community.
BlockPublisher recently got a word from the Ex-Vice President and Ex-Blockchain Strategy Lead from JP Morgan, Franklin Bi, as he expressed his thoughts regarding bitcoin and matters like governmental regulations. Franklin currently is the Associate Director of Strategic Advisory at Wachsman. Here is the following Q&A that presents forward Franklin’s views.
- Will bitcoin replace fiat or act as a reserve currency in the future?
Franklin: “While Bitcoin is unlikely to ever fully replace fiat currencies, it seems feasible that Bitcoin could eventually fulfill a complementary role by serving as an alternative medium of exchange or store of value independent of any single government’s control. We’re already seeing the gradual erosion of the US Dollar as the dominant global reserve currency — if we extrapolate that trend into a global economy with multiple reserve currencies in play, I expect that Bitcoin certainly has a chance of being one of them.”
- Is it the digital gold?
Franklin: “Of all the cryptocurrencies, bitcoin has probably displayed the most gold-like qualities, but it’s still too early to say whether it can serve as “digital gold.” Like gold, Bitcoin is probably scarce, but it’s still on its way to being broadly accepted as a predictable store of value. There’s no shortcut to achieving that status, only time will tell.”
- Should this market be regulated?
Franklin: “Whatever your position on regulation, the industry must recognize it as inevitable. That means collaborating with regulators so that any laws or rules satisfy markets and governments without compromising cryptocurrency’s unique virtues. It’s a challenge, but I have confidence in this community, and expect that clearer rules will allow promising startups to build and scale more confidently.”
- What can governments do to curb out the negative elements linked with bitcoin?
Franklin: “No financial market, to my knowledge, has ever been free of bad actors, but Bitcoin’s reputation has improved markedly in the past few years. As regulators gain a deeper understanding of the digital currency ecosystem and its nuances, they’ll establish working relationships with the key infrastructure players, such as exchanges, wallets, and custodians, and develop more sophisticated enforcement techniques in the same way that they have for traditional financial systems over time.”
Franklin seemed to be of a positive view regarding bitcoin. As implied by Franklin, it is expected that as regulators gain more understanding of this nascent world, things will get better. Although bitcoin is not quite the digital gold, it has shown some tendencies to act that way in the future. But nothing sure can be said at the moment. A plethora of issues that still need to be resolved is also floating around. It will be interesting to see if bitcoin is able to incorporate itself into the mainstream financial world or not.
