The emerging industry offers strong potential for the development of new businesses, jobs and opportunities. It is also fraught with a number of problems that plague young businesses.
The emerging industry offers strong potential for the development of new businesses, jobs and opportunities. It is also fraught with a number of problems that plague young businesses.
Cryptocurrencies based on blockchain technology have become increasingly popular in recent years. They are slowly becoming darlings of the developed world after testing waters in lower-income countries.
Last year, El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. After six months, there are signs that the Central American country’s crypto dream is not that shiny. According to some estimates, the uptake of digital assets remains patchy.
El Salvador’s experience hasn’t stopped some high-income countries from testing virtual currency and the innovations that come with it.
California, which would have the world’s fifth-largest economy if it were a country, is the first U.S. state to officially begin exploring cryptocurrency adoption and related technologies.
The state plans to experiment with cryptocurrencies in line with President Joe Biden’s regulations released in March. Biden’s executive order, in part, asks the Federal Reserve to consider creating its own digital currency.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed an executive order for state agencies to work with the federal government on digital currency regulations.
The order prompts officials to investigate blockchain computer coding for government operations in the state where much of the world’s technological innovation is born.
The emerging industry offers strong potential for the development of new businesses, jobs and opportunities. It is also fraught with a number of problems that plague young businesses.
Newsom’s order states that the state should be at the forefront of adapting to new technologies. Home to Silicon Valley and financial innovators like PayPal and Square, it has always been at the forefront of emerging technologies.
“Too often, government lags behind technological advances, so we’re ahead of the curve and laying the foundation for consumers and businesses to thrive,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement.
California’s population is approximately 39 million and its economy is worth more than $3.1 trillion, which as a US state alone is larger than the UK and India.
About 16% of US adults have invested in, traded or used cryptocurrencies, and the percentage is much higher among younger men.
Newsom’s order directs a separate agency to solicit suggestions on how best to use blockchain to help the state and the public.
Blockchain creates a decentralized but publicly viewable ledger, and the technology can also be used to record various types of information in the form of smart contracts. These records are stored on many computers that together form a global network, so no one or institution can control them.
While California may be first to attempt a comprehensive approach, Ohio was the first company to attempt to accept virtual currencies for government services in 2018, though the program was soon shut down because few people were using it.
Outside the US, in France, Binance Holdings, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has received regulatory approval to operate in the country. The move could significantly improve his operational plans on the block.
The exchange has received registration as a digital asset service provider, according to the website of the Paris market regulator AMF.
Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau had previously endorsed Binance’s interest in establishing a base in Paris. The company’s co-founder and CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, praised the country as one of the “pro-crypto” jurisdictions.
The approval in France and the launch in California are signs that some key strategic markets are looking to embrace digital assets and the innovations that come with them.
These developments are taking place against the backdrop of a crypto crackdown in China and Singapore. The city-state has enforced strict rules on cryptos, citing risks for retail investors and concerns that digital assets could be used for money laundering and terrorist financing.
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