Cyber currencies are now on everyone’s lips, even in Davos Crypto companies offensive advertising campaigns at the World Economic Forum More concrete laws for the crypto area required
Every year, the global elite meets in the Swiss Alps to discuss current geopolitical and economic developments.Between May 22nd and 26th it was that time again, the 52nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum took place.In addition to the Ukraine crisis and inflation, crypto topics were also discussed – Bitcoin, Ether and Co.were more present than ever before.
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A few years ago it was unthinkable that the comparatively young crypto sector would play such a big role at this established meeting.Bitcoin, created in 2008 by the unknown founder using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, was laughed at by the traditional financial world for years.
But according to “CoinMarketCap” data, Bitcoin now has a market capitalization of over 603 billion US dollars (as of May 31, 2022), all cryptocurrencies together are even worth 1.30 trillion US dollars – and therefore simply too big to continue to be ignored.Crypto companies with a high presence in Davos
The growing importance of cryptocurrencies is reflected in the increased presence of crypto companies along the main promenade in Davos, where major financial firms advertise their services and products every year.“Five years ago, we were the only crypto company on the boardwalk,” Sandra Ro, CEO of the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) told CoinDesk at the opening ceremony.“And look at it now,” Ro points to the numerous crypto companies along the advertising avenue, including Filecoin, Circle, Polkadot, Securrency, GBBC and Casper Labs.
Ripple and Circle CEOs Discuss Crypto Topics
In addition to the omnipresent advertising by crypto companies, the increased acceptance of Bitcoin and Co.is also reflected in the fact that several discussion panels at the World Economic Forum deal explicitly with crypto topics.The most-watched debate, Remittances for Recovery: A New Era of Digital Money, brought together Jeremy Allaire, Chairman and CEO of Circle Pay, and Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, among others.They discussed future prospects for foreign transfers of cryptocurrencies, especially to poorer countries.Another hot topic was the attitude of the national central banks towards cryptocurrencies.
Overall, the crypto protagonists were bullish about the future of cyber currencies, despite the current sell-off of Bitcoin and Co.Despite the macroeconomic headwind, crypto currencies could continue to thrive – especially if the currently insufficient or cryptic legal situation becomes clearer.
Above all, Garlinghouse and Allaire emphasized the urgent need for regulatory clarity in the crypto world.
Allaire, whose company Circle Pay issues stablecoin USD Coin (USDC), believes the world is moving to a point where the concept of a cross-border payment becomes as normal as the concept of a cross-border email.So far, such a global payment system has been hampered by ineffective laws.Cryptocurrencies are the optimal instruments to simplify transnational transactions without complications.His prognosis: “We’re not thinking about cross-border e-mails.We’re not thinking about surfing the Internet across borders, it’s absurd to imagine that.And I think that when it comes to money, we’re on the verge of that.
And if it is When it comes to remittances, I believe that the concept of remittances will disappear as well,” Allaire said.
He hopes that the crypto sector will present more examples for solving legal ambiguities at the upcoming Davos Forum.
Ripple CEO Garlinghouse agrees with his colleague that more clarity is needed on crypto regulations.This is where the US lagged behind: “I say don’t base in the US because there are some hostile and insecure there and in Japan and Singapore there is much more clarity, or go here to Switzerland to invest globally because more clarity , more certainty will [die Innovation] encourage,” Garlinghouse said.Regulation of cyber currencies: omnipresent topic in Davos
Significantly, the cyber currency area was repeatedly touched upon in discussions that were actually not supposed to be about cryptocurrencies.
Here’s how NASDAQ CEO Adena Friedman, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman, US Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and economist Jason Furman were supposed to be sharing their views on the future of the US economy.But a large part of the discussion revolved around Bitcoin and Co.
Furman, Professor of Economics at Harvard University, expressed his opinion that he did not consider a digital US dollar to be necessary: ”For many countries around the world, digital central bank currencies (CBDC ) may be useful, but I don’t think the United States needs them”.US Senator Toomey also thinks that such a CBDC is not needed in the US as there are already enough private stablecoins.
On the other hand, he believes that more precise legislation is imperative when it comes to stablecoins: “I think we should create a framework that allows privately issued stablecoins to thrive in a reasonable way, and if that happens, I’m not sure how much we will.” need a digital US dollar,” he said.In this regard, he had submitted a legislative proposal.“Bitcoin is not money”– Criticism from Deputy IMF Director
But by no means all participants in the Davos Forum are crypto enthusiasts.
On the contrary, many central bankers and financial regulators emphasized the downsides of cybercurrencies, including high volatility.For example, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), believes that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are not money but assets.“A prerequisite for something that is money is that it is a stable store of value,” Georgieva said.
Notwithstanding, according to a recent report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), nine out of ten central banks worldwide are considering designing and issuing CBDCs.
After the intensive debates in Davos, at least one thing is certain: in the financial world, and increasingly also in the political sphere, there is a great need for discussion regarding the future of cryptocurrencies.The digital tokens have finally become a political issue, as the fifth World Economic Forum in Davos showed.
Editorial office finanzen.net .