Gov Of Philippine’s Central Bank Does Not Want To Ban Crypto

Philippine’s Central Bank Governor, Felipe Medalla, has commented on crypto regulation. According to him, he does not want the country to ban crypto. However, he advised investors only to invest what they can lose if things go south. 

The BSP Governor Talks About Crypto Regulation 

The BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) Governor, Felipe Medalla, shared more information on the bank’s crypto policy. In discussion with the news media, Forkast, Medalla told the interviewer that he does not have any plans to ban cryptocurrency. 

Additionally, he believes crypto is not a good tool for payment purposes. This is due to the high price volatility of digital currencies. 

According to him, he is not okay with the term “cryptocurrency.” The governor believes a better term for these assets is crypto assets. 

This is because a currency can not have such high volatility. The governor then mentioned the environmental dangers of BTC. He believes crypto is not safe for the environment. 

He said BTC miners use a high amount of power to mine BTC. This is higher than the electricity consumed by some states in a year.

However, he conceded that crypto is beneficial to countries with a high amount of economic and financial repression. Hence, the governments of such nations can use it as an alternative.

Medalla Advises Crypto Investors 

Additionally, he commented on the anonymity of crypto. Individuals can use crypto to evidence government monitoring but is that socially beneficial? He added.

Medalla believes the anonymity of crypto can make it difficult for the government to track financial crimes. This is the case, especially for countries with poor technological infrastructures. 

Afterward, the governor talked about the recent cryptocurrency market crash. According to him, most of the crypto assets have dropped in valuation. 

Some have fallen by over two-thirds of their initial price in a short time. This has affected investors all over the world, with some firms even going bankrupt. 

As a result, the governor advised crypto investors to judge from the recent market crash. He told investors only to invest what they can lose, not their entire funds. 

Talking about the country’s crypto policy, Medalla said that individuals must not use crypto to evade KYC rules and AML regulations. In conclusion, the central bank has the right to enforce rules for AML practices and financial crimes. 

Also, these rules would apply to exchange firms where individuals can exchange their crypto for physical currency. These exchange firms have their own role to play if they must help fight financial crime.