According to a recent report, the Chief Fintech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Sopnendu Mohanty while giving his statement at a recent Business event which took place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology revealed that the country is enthusiastic about using blockchain to carry out overseas payments. However, the agency is not that enthusiastic about retail bank cryptocurrencies.
MAS Did its Homework
Mohanty further made it known that MAS which is Singapore’s central bank carried out an experiment on blockchain in order to understand it because as of 2016, policymakers had little understanding of the technology.
After, the experiment, the MAS discovered several blockchain-related use cases including how to use the technology to settle payments against securities, to arrange payments in the banking system, as well as how to organise overseas payments.
He then added that even though the agency realised the efficiency gains that the technology could bring, it was not convinced enough to see a compelling future for retail bank cryptocurrencies.
Mohanty while citing examples mentioned the central banks of Singapore and Canada which have used their blockchain networks to transfer virtual currency to one another successfully. He said:
“The next wave of central bank blockchain projects can make further progress by bringing technology exploration together with policy questions about the future of cross-border payments.”
The Bank Advocates for Extreme Caution While Dealing With Cryptos
The MAS in January issued a statement warning the people about an alleged fraud which claimed that digital currency was officially adopted by the government. The MAS also cautioned the public about the common problems associated with investing in virtual currencies or digital coins noting that such investments are highly risky.
In addition, the crypto regulation-responsible authority has brought attention to the multiple recommendations which have been published since 2017 including the recent one which was released in December 2018.