Philippine Central Bank Says Crypto ‘Can Be Good’ as ‘Alternative to Government’
In an interview published on Friday on Forkast, the governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, Felipe Medalla, shared his views on crypto.
One of the questions Medalla was asked was what he thought about cryptocurrencies to which he replied:
“I don’t want it to be banned, but I don’t want to call it cryptocurrency.”
The central bank governor added that, in his view, cryptocurrencies are practically of little use for real payments, especially when prices are so volatile as of late. He emphasized that currencies should not be volatile, therefore suggesting cryptocurrencies rather be called “Crypto Assets”.
Medalla then criticized Bitcoin’s environmental impact, saying the cryptocurrency is bad for the environment because miners consume more electricity than some countries use.
Is Crypto good for the Philippines?
Still, he conceded that in certain countries subject to much financial and economic repression, crypto can be “a good thing” because “it’s an alternative to government.” Another thing it is useful for is evading government oversight, the central banker stressed while nevertheless questioning the social benefits that come along.
Medalla emphasized that “in most countries where the government is not perfect but is largely contributing to the common good, you don’t necessarily want to weaken the government,” while remarking:
“So my view is its valuation may be too high because of all the things I said.”
The governor of the Philippine central bank continued to talk about the downturn in the crypto market, noting that the bubble already burst. He detailed:
“My advice always is if you go to buy this, don’t put in money that you cannot afford to lose.”
Referring to the Philippine central bank’s cryptocurrency policy, Medalla clarified:
“Our policy standpoint, it must not be used for evading anti-money laundering and know your customer rules.”
He concluded that for crypto exchanges in the country, the central bank’s policy is to enforce all necessary rules to prevent money laundering, especially the financing of criminal activities.
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Source: igaming
