The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has declared that central banks cannot give up their role as custodians of the global financial pool to private digital assets.
In an announcement made by the head of the BIS Agustin Carstens, cryptocurrency projects were likened to ‘gleaming skyscrapers’ as central banks remain the trusted gatekeepers of the global financial infrastructure. Meanwhile, American authorities say no plans are available to develop a digital U.S. dollar (USD) regardless of the reports emanating from some major countries that are planning to launch their own sovereign digital currencies.
Cryptocurrency Fostering Financial Inclusion
Even as organizations such as BIS hold to the primacy of mainstream finance, which has cut off 1.7 billion people from the banking system, Bitcoin champions a greater financial inclusion. The pioneer cryptocurrency and the leader by market capitalization currently completes between $1 billion and $3 billion worth of transactions per day.
All the same, Carstens, like many of his peers in the mainstream banking system, has a negative view about crypto. At the beginning of his role as the BIS chief, he called on regulators to enforce stricter regulations to govern the cryptocurrency market.
Carstens’ remarks appeared to be more urgent this time, contrary to his previous statement earlier this year, before the launch of the Libra whitepaper, when he stated that there was no urgent need for central banks to come up with their digital currencies. The launch of Libra Whitepaper sparked sharp reactions from various quarters with various nations expressing plans to launch their own sovereign digital currencies in a bid to block the progress of Libra.
BIS and The Digital Currency Narrative
According to the BIS chief, the digital currency narrative should be left in the control of central banks.
“We have a responsibility to be at the cutting edge of the debate. There is really no choice but to do so, as otherwise, events will overtake us,” Carstens said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government through its Treasury Secretary has declared that the country has no plans to develop its digital currency any time soon. On the contrary, China and the EU are among several countries that have considered launching their own central bank-backed digital money.
Featured Image Source: The Baja Post