Welcome to another weekly blockchain news roundup from around the world. Here we present to you all the latest Bitcoin news continent by continent and country by country.
Europe
European Union
Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project being examined by EU authorities: Facebook’s cryptocurrency project named Libra is now under scrutiny by the European authorities after it was unveiled a few weeks ago as concerns remain the largest social media network will try to operate as a shadow bank in guise of this project.
Immediate opposing positions were assumed by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and a German member of the European Parliament Markus Ferber. Both of these lawmakers called for more scrutiny of the social media network’s project and its effects on Europe.
According to Ferber:
“Multinational corporations such as Facebook must not be allowed to operate in a regulatory nirvana when introducing virtual currencies,”
Le Maire also voiced similar concerns. Facebook, while garnered the attention from around the world, has also invited the wrath of government and regulators who see it as an intrusion into banking and finance.
France
G7 Crypto task force announced: French Central Bank has announced the commissioning of a G7 task force to look into cryptocurrency regulation. The move by Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau will see a member of the European Central as head of the task force which will report to the current president of the Group of Seven Nations.
G7 is a group of top democratic economies of the world including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
According to Villeroy:
“We want to combine being open to innovation with firmness on regulation. This is in everyone’s interest,”
It remains to be seen what actual work the new task force will do for the regulatory effort for the sector.
Germany
Bavarian researchers recommend renewables for lowering bitcoin’s carbon footprint: Geman researchers based in Munich have come out and said that bitcoin mining should be moved towards renewable energy sources like wind, solar and hydroelectric to reduce the carbon footprint of mining in the world.
According to the study from Technical University of Munich, Bitcoin mining releases almost 22 megatons of CO2 in the air annually. The research suggests that it should be shifted towards renewable resources eventualy to help scale back the impact on the environment.
Georgia
Government working on using blockchain in government services and education: The government of the tiny country of Georgia has inked a new agreement with a blockchain company in Hong Kong (IOHK) to provide blockchain solutions for government projects including ones in education and business.
IOHK is the founder of Cardano cryptocurrency with various other blockchain innovations under its credit. Its founder Charlie Hoskinson was also the co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain. The aim of this partnership is to help bring more efficiency and transparency into the running of government in Georgia as well as making ease of doing business.
Russia
Ministry may legalize cryptocurrency trading in the country: The Russian Finance Ministry (MinFin) may eventually look to legalize cryptocurrency trading in the country after all according to deputy finance minister Alexei Moiseyev.
While the decision may be in the works, the Russian government has flip-flopped on the situation for a long time. Last year, it passed a bill banning Bitcoin and its use as payment in the country while the financial watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Europe has also recommended that Russia should regulate the cryptocurrencies in the country by the end of this year.
BitcoinNews.com is committed to unbiased news and upholding journalistic codes of ethics. For more information please read our Editorial Policy here.
Follow BitcoinNews.com on Twitter: @bitcoinnewscom
Telegram Alerts from BitcoinNews.com: https://t.me/bconews
Image Courtesy:
