The nominee for the next Finance Commissioner of the European Union, Valdis Dombrovskis, said that he intends to propose a unified approach to cryptocurrencies, including Facebook’s Libra. This comes soon after the project saw one of its key backers leave the Libra Association.
The legislation governing cryptocurrencies in the EU is a hot topic among institutions, investors, and the regulators themselves. It’s clear that virtual currencies are already on the scene, and it’s more important than ever to have a clear regulatory framework that provides much-needed clarity for those wanting to get involved with them.
This became especially so after Facebook announced its intention to launch its very own stablecoin dubbed Libra.
Now, the nominee for the next Finance Commissioner of the EU, Valdis Dombrovskis of Latvia, said that he intends to provide a unified approach to regulating cryptocurrencies. In his confirmation hearing, he stated:
“Europe needs a common approach to crypto-assets such as Libra. I intend to propose new legislation on this.”
He also said that by regulating cryptocurrencies, the EU would tackle “unfair competition, cybersecurity, and threats to financial stability.”
It’s perhaps safe to say that regulations are, indeed, needed. We can already see the toll that the lack of clear regulation has had on projects like Facebook’s Libra.
Countries such as Germany and France have openly said that they will go ahead and try to block the project, as it allegedly undermines the financial stability of traditional systems. On the other hand, we have the UK, which took the opposite position. As CryptoPotato reported, the UK’s Head of Treasury, Philip Hammond, said that the country won’t try to stop the project but rather regulate it in light of its potential to be “transformative”.
This uncertainty has already cost the project quite a bit, as the community is getting more and more skeptical about its launch. So are its backers: PayPal recently withdrew from the Libra Association and said that it doesn’t intend to rejoin.
In any case, given the EU’s overall unified regulatory framework, it makes sense that cryptocurrencies should be governed in the same manner everywhere.
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