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Netherlands Central Bank: We Don’t Consider Cryptocurrency To Be Money

Wilma Woo | Aug 03, 2018 | 14:30

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The central bank of the Netherlands has issued new comments on cryptocurrency this week, continuing a popular narrative from the banking sector that it is “not money.”

‘Spending, Saving And Calculating’

In a video statement translated by local news outlet Dutch News, De Nederlandsche Bank divisional director Petra Hielkema said that cryptocurrency did not adequately permit three specific functions which consumers need and which are currently fulfilled by fiat currency.

“De Nederlandsche Bank does not consider cryptocurrencies to be money,” she said.

“…If something wants to be treated as money, you have to be able to spend, save and calculate with it.”

The comments follow similar statements from Swiss bank UBS this week, which stated in a report and a message to clients that Bitcoin, in particular, falls short of the remit to be considered a global form of money.

“Bitcoin is still too unstable and limited to become a viable means of payment or a mainstream asset class,” UBS strategist Joni Teves wrote Thursday quoted by CNBC.

“Owing to its lack of price stability, bitcoin falls short of criteria that need to be satisfied to be considered money.”

A Familiar Blockchain-Not-Bitcoin Story

Holland became known as a friendly jurisdiction for crypto consumer spending early on in the Bitcoin phenomenon, with multiple merchants opting to accept it for payments several years ago.

In June, Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport installed Europe’s first Bitcoin ATM in such a location.

Since then as markets have matured, regulators have adopted a more cautious approach, recently voicing concerns about token investments and legal adherence. Like various other central banking institutions meanwhile, Hielkema was palpably more upbeat about Blockchain technology.

“We have been experimenting with the technology for the past three years and have developed four prototypes,” she confirmed.

The act of championing Blockchain over Bitcoin has formed a central point of criticism from within the cryptocurrency industry, educator Andreas Antonopoulos warning that such a perspective means a party “does not understand” the space.

What do you think about De Nederlandsche Bank’s perspective on cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments below!

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