In a keynote address at the Global Technology Law Conference, Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), referred to bitcoin and blockchain as a big trend with a great impact on finance.
Menon included blockchain and distributed ledgers into his list of big technological trends that affect finance. He mentioned that bitcoin payments are cheaper and faster than conventional bank transfers and allegedly equally safe.
“Whether digital currencies will take off in a big way remains to be seen. But it is a phenomenon that many central banks are watching closely, including MAS. And if they do take off, one cannot rule out central banks themselves issuing digital currencies some day!” he stated.
The five other “potentially transformative” technologies, according to Menon, are digital and mobile payments, authentication and biometrics, cloud computing, big data, learning machines.
When talking about blockchain, Menon named Ripple as an example of a blockchain-based solution for the financial sector. He suggested to use a system like Ripple for regulation: regulators will be able to “plug into the network” to control risks and fight money laundering and financing of terrorism. Distributed ledger presents some interest to lawyers, he added. The ledger can be used for closing and storing contracts without third party verification with Honduras being an example of a country that is developing a land title registry system based on public ledgers.
The MAS regulates all financial institutions in Singapore including banks, insurers, capital market intermediaries, financial advisors, and the stock exchange. The organisation also manages Singapore's exchange rate, foreign reserves and liquidity in the banking sector. Before becoming Managing Director of MAS in 2011, Ravi Menon was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) and Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
Central banks in different countries have already demonstrated their interest in bitcoin. Earlier this month CoinFox wrote about the Central Bank of Russia monitoring bitcoin market development. The National Bank of Ukraine is considering bitcoin regulation options. The State Bank of Vietnam together with the Department of Public Security is currently working on regulating bitcoin use in the country.
Aliona Chapel
