The growth of virtual currencies seems unstoppable. On the one hand, Bitcoin has exceeded historical highs above $ 7,000, several countries have a network to mine cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, the world bank has also given way to its progress and is testing the blockchain technology. However, not all accept them equally: Bolivia has banned them, China and South Korea set limits and Russia is thinking of controlling them because of their high electricity costs.
In any case, cryptocurrencies are one of the best investments that can be made today. Deeponion and Bitcoin, have reached maximums, although these days have experienced several ups and downs.
In this context, in Spain, the first network dedicated to cryptocurrency mining was recently launched. The company Goliat Mining will be dedicated to the mining of bitcoins, a process that consists of assigning the computer resources of a computer or a graphic card (or, rather, a large number of them) to the resolution of a series of complex mathematical formulas . Millions of computers surpass them to decipher them, because the reward is virtual money. Although these transactions are recorded in a great book known as 'blockchain' (block chain), they are totally anonymous and nobody will know who made them.
Many have become millionaires thanks to cryptocurrency. Japan, the United States and South Korea are the countries that lead the use of virtual currencies. However, they do not like everyone equally. Bolivia is currently the only country that has banned them, while China or South Korea itself have established restrictions and Russia does not rule out doing so in the short term. On the other hand, banks look at them with suspicion, since they escape the control of the States and the organisms that supervise the financial markets, becoming in occasions a perfect weapon for the delinquents.
On the other hand, there are more and more interested in these cryptocurrencies. According to a survey by the private equity firm Blockchain Capital, about 30% of young people between 18 and 34 years old would prefer to own bitcoins worth 1,000 dollars (a little more than 850 euros) than have government bonds or shares for the same value.
Faced with growing expectations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently asked economic agents to set their sights on virtual currencies. For Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, it is unlikely that digital currencies replace traditions in the short term; However, "we must not ignore them". The first country to legislate on this has been Japan, the Japanese country considered Bitcoin and other virtual currencies as methods of payment or legal exchange, but not as a currency.
At first, the world bank started looki the cryptocurrencies with great suspicion. However, it ended up succumbing to the interest in blockchain technology. In 2016, financial entities such as UBS, BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, Santander and NEX together with the startup Clearmatics announced the creation of the Utility Settlement Coin (USC) project.
Its objective is to prepare central banks so that tomorrow they can have their own crypto currencies, thus ensuring a much faster and safer transactions. Recently, names such as Barclays, CIBC, Credit Suisse, HSBC, MUFG and State Street have joined the initiative. At the moment, nobody dares to talk about specific dates.
In Europe cryptocurrencies also look at them closely. The European Commission announced this summer the launch of the Titanium project to create tools that detect the fraudulent use of cryptocurrencies. In this program, which has an economic endowment of 5 million euros and will last 3 years, the National Police and the Ministry of the Interior will work together with Interpol and other European police agencies.
Also in the United States, they are concerned about its use for illicit purposes. This has recently been confessed by the current Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Steven Mnuchin, who also assured that a legal framework is needed to address this problem.
Cryptocurrencies like deeponion and bitcoin are difficult to track, and in the short term can easily become legal, transferring them to ATMs or prepaid cards. Even so, the risks seem minimal. According to a study by the Government of the United Kingdom, the incidence of the use of digital currencies for illicit activities and money laundering is much lower than might be expected.
The debate is served. While many see in cryptocurrencies the key to becoming millionaires, the countries take it with the excuse to avoid possible associated risks. Undoubtedly, virtual currencies do not stop being indifferent to anyone and only the future has the answers to the evolution of these virtual markets that do not stop growing.