Although at the moment the banking institutions do not show as much interest in trading with digital currencies, it is possible that the banking institutions of the European Union will be motivated to take the step depending on the results of the commercialization of the future Bitcoin in the US.
During a session held in the European Parliament, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, said that in the future banks could make the decision to enter the trading space with Bitcoin balances.
These statements show that banking institutions are interested in cryptocurrency as such. Important events such as the trading of Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Merchantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) have brought a greater degree of security to financial institutions, causing them to lose weight, such as volatility in prices and the effects of speculation.
In this regard, Draghi commented:
"The recent events that have taken place in the ecosystem, such as the commercialization of Bitcoin futures in some of the main US exchanges, could lead European banks to take the step to enter the ecosystem of the digital currency, which we will certainly see in the future ".
However, Draghi was also very clear in pointing out that for the moment European financial institutions are not showing great interest in digital currencies, explaining that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies do not currently have an appropriate regulation, so in the eyes of many still they are seen as very risky investments. The digital currency market is still very volatile and prices are changing constantly.
In this regard, Draghi commented:
"In this session, two speakers spoke about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Let me say, first of all, that for the moment we do not perceive that financial institutions show a systematic interest in storing balances in digital currencies ... At the moment the credit institutions established in the European Union do not show much appetite when talking about these digital assets ".
In the scenario in which banks begin to store and invest in digital currencies, the market can receive a large amount of money and an impulse never before seen. By its nature, Bitcoin has deflationary characteristics, so if banks decide to invest large sums of money, this could cause the price of the cryptocurrency to increase significantly.
Regular is not the priority
The director of the supervision area of the European Central Bank, Daniele Nouy, said in an interview for the news agency CNBC that the financial institution does not have as a priority to regulate digital currencies at the moment.
In this regard, Nouy commented:
"We have been examining the possibility of assuming a regulatory perspective, we are ready to do something if necessary, but acting at this time is not among our list of priority issues."
However, Nouy said that the ECB would be closely monitoring the cryptocurrency ecosystem as new risks arise, so the institution is monitoring the evolution of the trading of Bitcoin futures.
The official said that for the moment, banks with a presence in the European Union, while recognizing the potential and benefits of trade with digital currencies, still do not show such noticeable interest in starting to perform commercial activities with them.