TL;DR Breakdown
- Pieter Hasekamp called out on the Netherlands to ban Bitcoin holding
- Hasekamp cited security concerns, scams, and fraud-related issues.
- Netherlands for lagging behind in implementing a ban against cryptocurrencies
After an exec at the Bank of England bashed stablecoins as being ir-radical, another Dutch official has come out bashing Bitcoin as lacking the main functions of money. Pieter Hasekamp called out on the Netherlands to ban Bitcoin holding, mining, and trading activities. In his argument, Hasekamp cited security concerns, scams, and fraud-related issues. All of these concerns are common among anti-crypto campaigns and go on to explain how useful Bitcoin has become for criminals.
Hasekamp serves as the director of the Dutch Bureau for Economic Analysis. In a paper entitled “Netherlands must ban Bitcoin,” the official noted that banning the digital currency would cause it to plummet mainly because BTC lacks any intrinsic value and has only grown in value because more governments are approving its use. More people are accepting it as an exchange for value.
Ban Bitcoin because it goes against Gresham’s Law for Money.
The paper pointed out several issues based on Gresham’s Law, which states that it will somewhat create a legally undervalued currency through circulation when a currency is overvalued. Furthermore, the paper went on to refer to an overvalued currency as bad money and undervalued currency as good money. Thereby pinpointing the effects acceptance and circulation of Bitcoin has had in growing the coin’s monetary value.
Additionally, the paper went on to call out the Netherlands for lagging behind in implementing a ban against cryptocurrencies. He expressed his frustrations on regulatory frameworks created earlier on by Dutch authorities. The official claimed authorities had attempted to tighten regulations around trading activities, but their efforts bore no fruits. In 2018, the Central Planning Bureau pinpointed cryptocurrency-related risks; however, the Bureau concluded the industry was not yet mature for strict regulations.
Bottomline
Meanwhile, the criticism comes following the crackdown of cryptocurrency exchanges and mining activities in China. However, there is also some more good regulatory news on the Bitcoin front following approval as to legal tender in El Salvador. Panama and Mexico, on the other hand, are also rolling out regulations for adopting Bitcoin. Other crypto-related news includes efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to deploy a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
