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Japan to Monitor Bitcoin Rather than Regulate it
Japan’s involvement with bitcoin has taken a massive blow due to all of the negative press surrounding the Japanese failed bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox. Since then, warnings of the risks involved with dealing in the digital currency have been spread throughout the world by regulators and critics alike.
Japan Will Monitor Bitcoin
However, rather than placing specific laws or regulations attached to how the country should be allowed to use bitcoin, it will just monitor it instead. On Tuesday, the Japanese government claimed that regulating bitcoin wasn’t under their jurisdiction.
Sources say that Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is devising a plan to make it easier to monitor illegal bitcoin activity. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his administration identify bitcoin as not being a form of currency. They do identify it as being an electronic payment method.
As most government officials and regulators do, Japan’s warn the public of bitcoin’s potential dangers, such as its uses in money laundering and drug trafficking.
Regulators Warn of Bitcoin
While Japan has no plans to enforce rules over bitcoin, other regulators feel that regulation over the digital currency is the only way for it to be safe enough for investors to get into.
On the other hand, some feel bitcoin isn’t safe enough to implement into our economy, but for those that want in, they should do their homework first. Indiana Secretary of State, Connie Lawson claims that:
“The value of virtual currencies is highly volatile, and the concept behind the currency is difficult to understand even for sophisticated financial experts.”
Though this may be true in some cases, that doesn’t mean people can’t figure it out for themselves. Bitcoin was foreign to every enthusiast at one point in time. Like with all new concepts and innovations, time is needed to get acquainted with the technology.
Once upon a time, even the Internet sounded dangerous and ludicrous idea. Regulators, whether in Japan or the U.S., need to stop putting fear in people and let bitcoin have an organic chance at success.
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This appears to be a rehash of an original article written by Kyodo News dated May 13, “Japan to monitor illegal bitcoin activity but put off regulation” (google it).
You left out the part in the original about Prime Minister Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s committee on the issue, and that it “has apparently concluded that the country should make use of the virtual
currency [bitcoin] to bolster foreign investment and business in Japan in an
attempt to invigorate the economy, rather than excessively strengthening
its surveillance to protect consumers.”
In short, the Japanese government has a plan for dealing with Mt. Gox, and crypto-currencies in general, in which Japan’s national interest trumps the need for greater regulation, especially considering the blow the country took to its international reputation among investors, delivered by collapse of this Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange.