TL;DR Breakdown
- Finance minister in Netherland against Bitcoin Ban
- Minister proposes crypto regulation
- Adviser says crisis looms with further crypto crash
Wopke Hoekstra, the Finance Minister in Netherland has stated clearly he is opposed to any move of placing an outright ban on cryptocurrencies in the country.
The minister said this in response to the economic advisor, Pieter Hasekamp who suggested a ban on trading, producing, and owning crypto by Netherland residents in the country.
The finance minister said clearly in response to an opinion piece published by the adviser. The minister said that an outright ban on cryptocurrencies would not solve anything.
“Cryptocurrencies demonstrate all the hallmarks of ‘bad money’: unclear origin, uncertain valuation, shady trading practices,” he argued. Their anonymity makes them useful for criminals, he argued, and they’re no good as money, failing as units of account, means of payment and stores of value.
The minister took into cognizance Hasekamp’s argument but said that an outright ban being proposed would not offer a solution like regulation. He said this in a TV interview.
“My observation now is that regulation is more effective than a total ban in the Netherlands,” he said.
Hasekamp, Bulldog that can only bark not bite in Netherlands
Although he has sub opined in his piece that regulation on cryptocurrencies would backfire calling for the legitimacy of crypto ban. He said now is the time to act and the more the wait the more harm future crypto crashes would cause in the country.
The adviser, however, has no power to make any decision in Netherland. His bureau is part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and its director is appointed by the minister, but its research is independent and its advice isn’t binding.
Playing down both regulatory move and an outright ban, Patrick van der Meijde, chairman of the Dutch crypto lobbying firm, Association of Bitcoin Companies, said “Bitcoin is open source, it’s software that people can run. It’s not an office you can invade.”
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