State cryptocurrencies, so called because they are issued and backed by governments, have become a global trend and many countries have been announcing their plans to launch their own crypto, despite the questions that many of these governments have raised in relation to to this type of coins.
The reasons for launching these projects are varied and range from evading international sanctions, replacing the use of cash and promoting the massive adoption of cryptocurrencies, to the forefront of financial technology. Here are some of the countries that have expressed their intention to develop this type of assets.
IRAN
After announcing the project last year, the Iranian government confirmed on July 26 that it plans to launch its national cryptocurrency, which could enter the ecosystem of digital currencies over the next three months. On this, Alireza Daliti, delegate of the Directorate of Management and Investment Affairs of Iran said that the intention is to facilitate the transfer of money anywhere in the world.
However, it also points out that another of the objectives is to evade the sanctions imposed by the United States, as the announcement made by Tehran comes days after US President Donald Trump reported that he would reactivate the economic sanctions against Iran, lifted during the government of Barack Obama.
Thus, the Iranian cryptocurrency arises from the need to stop the problems with international banking as a result of international restrictions on capital flows. The initiative is being developed by technology companies that work under the supervision of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Directorate of Technological and Scientific Affairs of the presidency.
The Iranian government has not provided details about the blockchain, the algorithm, the mining or the centralization of the network that it will use to launch the cryptocurrency during the next quarter. Although in the media it is reported that the Informatics Services Corporation is developing the blockchain infrastructure that will serve as the basis for the adoption of the new digital currency between banks and other institutions. These plans are parallel to an official ban on the use of bitcoin in the country by financial institutions and a legal landscape not very friendly to the sector.
RUSSIA
Since the end of 2017, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has been mentioning the possibility of creating a state cryptocurrency to boost the nation's economy, as well as free trade with the rest of the countries of the world. For that date, Nikolai Nikiforov, Minister of Telecommunications of Russia, announced that the president had approved the creation of the cryptorub.
The information was confirmed in January 2018 by Sergei Gláziev, an adviser to the Russian president, who cited the project as an option to circumvent international sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States. For the Russian government, the cryptorub could help arrange payments with its business partners around the world, regardless of sanctions. It would also be a means to diminish the influence of the North American country in its economy.
The reports indicate that the Russian virtual currency, which would be encrypted by algorithms developed in the Eurasian country, could be created from Ethereum. It was also indicated that it will not be possible to generate new cryptorubles through traditional mining.
Similar to the case of Iran, the Russian government has manifested a strict regulatory policy regarding the Initial Offers of Currencies (ICO) and cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoin.
VENEZUELA
At the end of 2017, the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reported on the launch of a cryptocurrency backed by Venezuelan oil: petro. The project was conceived as a "solution" to the economic problems afflicting the country, although it also emerges as an alternative to combat the sanctions imposed on important government officials.
The progress of the project has been slow and controversial and a few days ago the plan was reformulated through the anchoring of the local fiat currency, the sovereign bolivar, to the cryptoactive. All this within a monetary reconversion that will be launched on August 20 next.
Simultaneously, the Venezuelan government has been taking a series of measures to legalize the sector, including the creation of the Cryptoactive Treasury of Venezuela and the Superintendence of Cryptoactives of Venezuela and Related Venezuelan Activities (SUPCACVEN). This added to the certification of exchange houses, authorization of the cryptocurrency mining and encouragement of adoption in daily payments.
However, the measures so far have not materialized in concrete results and the cryptoactive, in addition to not having international recognition, shows unclear information about its presale, intelligent contract and the platform to be used.
SWEDEN
The Central Bank of Sweden (Riksbank) announced its plans to create a national digital currency with the name of e-krona from November 2016. Viewed as an alternative to the decrease in the number of coins and bills in circulation in the country Nordic, this plan received the approval of the vice president of the Riksbank, Cecilia Skingsley.
Sweden is characterized as one of the countries that moves towards a cashless society. Therefore, the Riksbank believes that the e-krona should be equivalent to the country's current currency, but that it should be used for small transactions between consumers, companies and authorities.
Currently the project is led by Eva Julin, who recently stated that the central bank decided to use the IOTA platform, will have a clear focus on the Know Your Client policies and against money laundering (KYC and AML, respectively) and is working and negotiating with 19 other companies to have everything ready in 2019.
As Sweden is not in the euro zone, it has no conflict of interest with the European Central Bank (ECB), which rejected the idea that the eurozone states issue digital currencies that compete against the euro. This position prevented the advance of Estonia, which also had plans to launch its own cryptocurrency: the estcoin.
SWITZERLAND
Last May, the Swiss government, through its executive body, the Federal Council, approved a request to study the feasibility, advantages and challenges of a state cryptocurrency that would be called e-franc or crypto-franchise.
In the request, entitled "Establish a report on the feasibility and challenges of the creation of a crypto-franchise", the Swiss parliamentarian Wermuth Cédric -principal promoter of the plan- cites as reference the Bank of Sweden (Riksbank) and its e-krona project. The project depends on the approval of the lower house of the Swiss Parliament, the National Council. If approved, the task will fall to the Swiss Ministry of Finance to investigate and eventually produce the government-supported study.
Switzerland, like Sweden, is outside the eurozone so the e-franc will not come into conflict with the ECB. The country is commonly seen among the friendliest jurisdictions for cryptocurrencies and the Initial Coin Offers (ICO).
MARSHALL ISLANDS
Last May the Marshall Islands, a small nation of the South Pacific, announced that it will issue its own cryptocurrency, approved by Parliament and named "Sovereign" (Sovereign) and abbreviated "SOV".
The cryptoactive may be used as well as the US dollar in the national territory, according to a first draft of the Declaration and Issuance Act of the Sovereign, which authorizes the issuance of a digital currency based on blockchain technology as a course currency. legal. Currently the authorities are reviewing the regulations of the SOV, and although it was established that its launch would be carried out through an ICO, the mechanism for selling the tokens is still under discussion in the Senate.
ISRAEL
As part of the development of new legislation to help reduce the circulation of cash, the Israeli government is considering, since December, the issuance of a local cryptocurrency that has the same value of its current currency, the shekel.
The proposal of the central bank derives, at the same time, from the study carried out by the Bank of Sweden for the creation of the e-krona, although in this case they do not speak of a new cryptoactive but of a digital shekel. However, it is pointed out that transfers and payments with the new currency would be made directly between two citizens, without the intervention of third parties; in contrast to those that must be made through banking institutions.
DUBAI
The creation of its own cryptocurrency, called emCash, was the proposal that the local government of Dubai made public last year, with the aim of implementing a new payment mechanism for governmental and non-governmental services.
In this regard, the Deputy Director General of Economy of Dubai, Ali Ibrahim, said that the cryptocurrency would be considered as legal tender, so it would allow to pay from everyday coffee and children's school to public services and transfers of money. The goal, according to the government, is to take advantage of blockchain technology to make financial transactions cheaper, faster and safer, and to demonstrate the advantages of adoption to governments, companies and customers.
CHINA
Despite the government's position against cryptocurrencies and ICOs, the People's Bank of China is studying the idea of issuing its own national cryptocurrency from 2016.
Particularly, the efforts to develop a digital currency in China are inclined toward a hybrid model, aimed at achieving "a balance between centralization and decentralization", in order to combine the main characteristics of a cryptoactive with the existing monetary system in the country. The idea is to develop a new digital currency that maintains the cryptographic characteristics but that adapts to the existing financial structure.
A TREND IN AUGE
In addition to the countries mentioned, other nations also contemplate joining the trend. In that sense, it is worth mentioning the case of Japan with the proposal of J-Coin, a digital currency that would seek to replace, in the coming years, the growing use of cash in that country. It is expected that this currency becomes operational by 2020, however, it has not yet been confirmed if it will be based on blockchain.
There are also the experiences of Kazakhstan, where the issuance of the Cryptotenge (linked to the fiat currency) is evaluated; and Cambodia, where there was talk of creating the Entapay to follow the same line of Venezuela, Iran and Russia, trying to evade sanctions. Even in Singapore and Ukraine, this crypto-type has been thought of. To date, no plan has been finalized. The progress of ongoing projects to evaluate their results remains to be expected.
courtesy of www.criptonoticias.com