Will Bitcoin be global currency? Ripple CEO doubts it

Summary:

• According to Ripple CEO Bitcoin has no chances to become global currency
• Vietnam proposes an import ban on Bitcoin mining equipment
• IMF reckons Bitcoin could one day threat demand for fiat money

A debate regarding the future of digital currencies is not something new, and from time to time we are offered new hunches and forecasts (often based on nothing to be honest). This time is another one coming from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse who told CNBC on Tuesday that Bitcoin is unlikely to be the catch-all solution for people in terms of being a global currency. He was cited as saying "I think it’s not going to be the panacea that people once thought it would be, where it would solve all of these different kinds of problems". Given that he leads the competing company these kind of comments seem to be understandable, albeit it’s true that Ripple-based transactions are processed much quicker than those via Bitcoin, and this feature was also underlined by him.

Bitcoin drew an encouraging candlestick on Tuesday being placed at an important short-term technical support. If this proves to be true one may expect a rise toward $8050 or so. Source: xStation5

Vietnam proposes an import ban on Bitcoin mining equipment

Given revelations coming from Vietnam one may argue that a global trade war (as media outlets have tended to describe lately) apparently enters a different dimension. Namely, the Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has officially proposed that the country bans the import of digital currency mining equipment. On the other hand it has been just a proposal so far and the official statement adds also that "mining machines are not on the list of goods banned from importation and are not subject to the list of specialized management or unsafe goods, so enterprises are easily allowed to complete the import procedures". The publication also noted that data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs shows that between 2017 and April 2018 Vietnam imported about 15600 mining machines. The ban put forward by the MoF follows the largest crypto fraud case in the country involving over $656 million and more than 32000 victims. If it comes into effect, it could hurt the largest producers of crypto mining equipment.

Ripple looks as if it’d be ready to fall from the current levels after drawing two ominous candlesticks localized at an upper bound of a downward channel. If so, sellers could count on a pullback toward $0.63 or beyond to a lower boundary of the channel. Source: xStation5

IMF reckons Bitcoin could one day threat demand for fiat money

Earlier this month the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report concerning global monetary policy where a thread regarding cryptocurrencies had been brought up as well. The IMF suggested that demand for fiat currencies could lower one day if some crypto assets are eventually more widely adopted and fulfil more of the functions of money in some regions. The organisation wrote in its report that "Economists continue to debate the origins of money, and why monetary systems seem to have alternated between commodity and credit money throughout history. If crypto assets indeed lead to a more prominent role for commodity money in the digital age, the demand for central bank money is likely to decline". In our eyes it’s a noteworthy point as the IMF takes a serious approach seeing a real risk for fiat money. One day, it could matter a lot for the global economy.