Thomas Moser of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) sees a decreasing interest of nation states in their own cryptocurrencies. This would have removed many of the original prospects from the idea, because it guaranteed too many risks. Meanwhile, the Bahamas state and central bank are moving in the direction of a pilot project.
For a while, it looked like governments and central banks around the world were considering issuing their own centralized cryptocurrencies. In addition to Venezuela, which is playing a pioneering role in this area with the launch of the controversial Petro, Russia, Turkey, Iran and even the United Kingdom have been playing with this idea. However, as can now be heard from a representative of the Swiss central bank, interest in government cryptocurrencies seems to be decreasing.
Interest is decreasing, risks too high
In a conversation with the magazine "Business Insider" in Zug "Crypto Valley", Deputy Board member of the Swiss National Bank, Thomas Moser said that central banks worldwide had become skeptical. Although electronic illustrations of banknotes bring benefits, the risks are comparatively high.
"At the beginning, there was a lot of interest and enthusiasm in issuing its own national cryptocurrency. However, I think that this enthusiasm has slowed down due to the impact on financial stability, "
Moser told the magazine.
In his opinion, at the moment the fear of making mistakes outweighs the courage to put the interest in technology into practice and to risk innovation. At present, every central bank would only think, experiment, and wait for an industry representative to dare and move forward. However, he is optimistic that there will be national cryptocurrencies in the long term.
Bahamas: Leading by example?
A possible example could be the island state of the Bahamas. The central bank of the country known as a tax haven has recently announced concrete plans for its own cryptocurrency. A pilot project will test a national digital currency for the Bahamas. If the cryptocurrency of the Bahamas is successful, it could - in contrast to the much vilified Petro Venezuela - become an initial spark for other central banks. However, the island state is difficult to compare with larger economies.