On the wave of the world-wide cryptomania, a number of governments have decided to release their own crypto-currencies based on the blockade, the technology on which Bitcoin is based.
So far, this idea is most popular among authoritarian regimes wishing to evade international sanctions, that is, somehow bypass the international banking system. At the same time, some believe that such crypto-currency projects, if implemented, can irrevocably change the existing international monetary system.
Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro presented a draft of a crypto currency called El Petro - each unit will be provided with one barrel of oil. Maduro, referring to the deficit in the country of dollars, which resulted from US sanctions, says that the introduction of El Petro will help Venezuela gain access to foreign currency and goods and services from around the world.
The first round of sales, within which approximately 40% of tokens should be sold, is addressed to institutional investors. The success of the enterprise is in question. First, while there is no mechanism for exchanging the crypto currency for oil or other physical assets, as Maduro's plan provides, and secondly, the Venezuelan parliament, controlled by the opposition, declared El Petro an illegal currency.
What other countries are considering the possibility of issuing crypto currency?...The Central Bank of Russia is planning to agree with a number of countries, including Brazil, China, India and five former Soviet republics, on creating a super-currency that could cover countries with a combined population of 40% of the total number of people on the planet.
In turn, the deputy head of the People's Bank of China, Fan Yifei, wrote an article that describes the digital currency, which could be released jointly with Chinese commercial enterprises. In Sweden, where cash is used less and less, the central bank is exploring the possibility of issuing its own crypto currency called E-krona, fearing that the widespread use of other digital currencies controlled by private organizations could adversely affect the country's competitiveness.But after all, crypto-currencies, by definition, can not belong to the authorities?
Until now it was so - bitcoin and its many competitors and imitators have quite consciously developed as decentralized projects. Nevertheless, the blockade technology itself does not exclude the possibility of centralization. Moreover, the government will control the virtual currency much better than the paper currency - for example, because it will be able to track all transactions...Why should the authorities issue crypto-currencies?
In this case, the regulation of the money supply through a change in interest rates, that is, monetary policy, would be a much more direct tool, that is, more efficient and economical. Tax evasion will be forgotten, because all transactions will be monitored.
In addition, as today, bitcoin is popular among people who do not like control from the state, and states can issue their own crypto-currencies, being dissatisfied with the excessive control of the international financial system - and this, of course, is primarily the governments of countries facing international sanctions.....How to circumvent sanctions by using crypto currency?
The United States is imposing sanctions against banks and companies that, as part of the American financial system, are doing business with a particular country. Violators are monitored for transactions in the international banking system.
But if the government had its own crypto currency, the US authorities could not track the transactions conducted in it. The same effect can be achieved using bitcoin, but it may be difficult for the state to get enough of this crypto currency. In addition, as we know, the rate of bitcoin is very unstable.
How would the issue of state-owned crypto-currencies affect the international financial system?
The world financial system, controlled by the West, is based on many internationally agreed rules, norms and institutions that allow countries to trade and invest in each other. The US to some extent controls this system - due to the prevalence of the dollar or the US banking system.
If its own crypto currencies create enough countries, it will allow them to act outside the existing rules, undermining the influence of traditional central banks, including the Federal Reserve System and the European Central Bank.
What would this mean for banks?
If national crypto currencies became popular, the block would begin to displace the traditional process of transaction clearing, which is an important source of revenue for commercial banks. Nevertheless, banks would retain their role in issuing loans of various kinds.