Europe knows it will have to embrace a digital euro soon. To become a global digital leader and avoid dependence on American and Asian technological infrastructures, European policymakers and regulators have to make progressive decisions. A critical stumbling block for Europe’s digital economic thinking is so-called stablecoins. Stablecoins can be privately issued and have the potential to become globally accepted and systemically relevant, disrupting long-established financial systems. Consequently, today’s political discussions surrounding stablecoins are dominated by concerns over financial stability and orderly monetary policy. Related: Stablecoins present new dilemmas for regulators as mass adoption looms Current regulatory plans undercut innovation …

A business unit within Malta’s Chamber of Commerce has struck down allegations that the country failed to uphold proper regulatory oversight of cryptocurrency businesses in its early embrace of the industry in 2017 and 2018. The Virtual Financial Assets Agents Business Unit of the Malta Chamber of Commerce responded to a Sunday report from the Times of Malta alleging that global financial regulators are concerned about money laundering and lax regulatory oversight of crypto businesses within the country. Specifically, sources close to a recent Financial Action Task Force meeting in Paris told the daily newspaper that regulators believe Malta’s fast-tracking …

Malta’s strategy to become a global enclave for digital assets appears to be working, though lax regulatory oversight has raised concerns over money laundering and other financial crime. Roughly $71 billion, or 60 billion euros, worth of cryptocurrencies has passed through Malta since the tiny Mediterranean state first adopted its “blockchain island” strategy in 2017, the Times of Malta reported Sunday. Although Malta has upgraded its crypto-focused regulations in recent years, financial watchdogs say the nation's anti-money laundering regime may have lacked proper protocols. The Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, met in Paris last week to discuss whether Malta …

With extreme positions on both sides, some would have us believe that decentralized technology and regulation are mutually exclusive. As pervasive as that narrative has become, a more evolved view is that both decentralization and regulation are inevitable, so the best results will flow with regulators and innovators coming together. But what will that cooperation look like? At the Stellar Development Foundation, our view is that regulators and innovators will (and should) influence each other, and that means both sides should be prepared to compromise. Let’s start with some honest self-reflection: There is no inherent quality of blockchain or cryptocurrency …

A new survey of 100 chief financial officers at hedge funds worldwide has indicated that the sector is planning a significant increase in its exposure to crypto assets in the near term. The survey, conducted by Intertrust, suggests that if the respondents’ forecasts were broadly mirrored across the sector, assets in crypto held by global hedge funds could hit $312 billion. United States-based funds were most bullish about the new asset class, expecting to raise their portfolio exposure to crypto to 10.6% on average within five years. Their European Union- and United Kingdom-based counterparts gave a slightly more modest figure, …

Paolo Savona, the chairman of the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob) — Italy’s securities regulator — has raised alarms over crypto’s growing popularity in the absence of firm regulatory standards. According to Reuters, Savona made this position known while delivering Consob’s annual report on Monday stating that the lack of clear-cut regulations creates an opportunity for criminals to utilize crypto for illegal activities. According to Savona: “Without proper oversight, there could be a worsening in market transparency, the basis of legality and rational choice for (market) operators.” Despite several research studies indicating that crypto criminality only …

The European Central Bank has warned that a CBDC or digital euro may be required to head off the spectre of “artificial currencies” dominating cross-border payments. In ECB’s annual review of the euro dubbed “The international role of the euro”, economists Massimo Ferrari and Arnaud Mehl conveyed concerns over the rise of artificial currencies led by unnamed “foreign tech giants” — likely a veiled reference to Facebook’s Diem project: “One concern could be a situation in which domestic and cross-border payments are dominated by non-domestic providers, including foreign tech giants potentially offering artificial currencies in the future.” “Not only could …

The European Union is falling behind China and the United States when it comes to blockchain and artificial intelligence investments, according to the European Investment Bank. The EIB said on Tuesday that it anticipates an ongoing investment shortfall of around 10 billion euros ($12 billion) across both technologies. China and the U.S. currently account for 80% of the global $25 billion invested in blockchain and AI, with the EU making up just 7% of that figure, reported Reuters. The bank said the underinvestment in both sectors compared to other regions was a sign that the EU has failed to translate …

Crypto.com, a popular platform for buying and selling digital assets, has become the first cryptocurrency company to receive Malta’s Class 3 Virtual Financial Assets License. The license was granted by the Malta Financial Services Authority, or MFSA, paving the way for broader recognition of digital assets throughout the European Union. As a licensed Class 3 VFA Service Provider, Crypto.com is subject to more rigorous governance, compliance and security requirements. Prior to obtaining the VFA license, Crypto.com was operating under a transitory legal framework in Malta. The tiny Mediterranean nation is one of a small number of European Union jurisdictions to …

Cryptocurrency investors in Hungary could be getting a major tax break very soon, as lawmakers seek to make the central European country more competitive in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a video that appeared on Facebook Tuesday, Finance Minister Mihály Varga outlined the government’s stimulus program through 2022. As part of the post-COVID-19 relief efforts, lawmakers are considering reducing taxes on cryptocurrency trading to 15% of income, down from the current rate of 30.5%. Such a move would make Hungary a far more competitive jurisdiction with respect to crypto-based capital gains taxes. Cryptocurrency regulations are underdeveloped in Hungary, …

Stablecoins present peculiar challenges to regulators. Although there is no single, agreed-upon definition of a stablecoin, the common denominator of the commonly used definitions is that stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value in relation to a specified currency, asset or pool of such currencies/assets. They are contrasted with regular cryptocurrencies, which have no such stability mechanism and whose values tend to fluctuate, sometimes even substantially. Related: All risk, no gain? The vague definition of stablecoins is causing problems Stablecoins do not denote a uniform category but represent a variety of crypto instruments that can vary significantly in legal, …

When European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetta addressed the European Union Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs in April, he emphasized the importance of privacy in any potential future CBDC rollout. The ECB had conducted a public consultation on the possibility of a digital euro, canvassing the opinions of over 8,000 individuals and businesses. The responses that came back suggested privacy was the number one concern surrounding the issuance of a central bank digital currency. With 43% of respondents highlighting privacy as the core requirement, Panetta declared that the digital euro could meet those requirements without relaxing security standards. …