RBA Watching Cryptocoin Influence
The Reserve Bank of Australia is closely monitoring the rise of digital currencies.
Tony Richards, head of payments policy at Australia's central bank said that the bank is closely monitoring cryptocurrencies. He also admitted that blockchain technology has massive potential for the financial industry.
The use of bitcoin and other digital currencies as an actual method of payment remains relatively limited in Australia, as elsewhere, digital currencies do not currently appear to raise any pressing regulatory issues, Richards said in a statement to a government committee.
Blockchain Bulls
While the longer-term prospects for private digital currencies in Australia are unclear, the central bank noted that blockchain and distributed ledger technologies underlying them have potential for widespread use in the financial sector and many other parts of the economy.
The greatest potential is likely to be in sectors where workflows involve lots of different parties with no trusted central entity, and where current practices are quite inefficient. Some frequently suggested financial sector use cases include correspondent banking and remittances, as well as trade financing.
Over the past few years, the banking industry in Australia has been building the New Payments Platform (NPP). The project is now in its final stages of testing and the public launch is scheduled for early 2018.
