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NORWAY SUPPORTS MICA, CONSIDERS CBDC FOR FINANCIAL STABILITY
Norges Bank backs the EU’s MiCA regulation while considering a CBDC to enhance cross-border payments and support financial stability in Norway.
Norges Bank, Norway’s central bank, has endorsed the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) as the country evaluates the potential adoption of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Kjetil Watne, project director for Norges Bank’s CBDC project, said in an interview with Cointelegraph that Norway, as a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), welcomes MiCA’s framework. However, he noted that the bank is still considering “whether additional regulations are necessary to promote financial stability.”
Watne explained that Norges Bank has “not yet decided” if it will issue a CBDC and is assessing how to “mitigate regulatory gaps related to decentralized finance.”
Supporting MiCA and CBDC implementation
As part of the EEA, Norway closely aligns with EU regulations, including MiCA, which Watne said is “under public review and currently being assessed by the Ministry of Finance.”
According to Watne, Norges Bank considers CBDCs potentially useful for cross-border payments but that “it remains to be seen how a CBDC-based cross-border payment system would look.”
In 2023, the bank participated in “Project Icebreaker,” a trial exploring new architectures for retail CBDC transactions across borders. Watne added:
“We believe that an eventual CBDC will, if issued, will supplement and not replace cash. We also believe that digital currencies will continue to exist in parallel with CBDCs.”
Addressing privacy concerns
According to Watne, Norges Bank has taken a measured stance on privacy concerns related to CBDCs, recognizing that digital payments “will leave digital taxes.”
He emphasized that Norges Bank “is not responsible for monitoring individual payment transactions” and noted that most central banks, including Norges Bank, do not plan to access customer CBDC payment details or account balances.
“Norges Bank’s analyses assume that this will be the path also for Norges Bank. As with other forms of payment, it will be necessary to ensure that relevant rules are complied with, for example anti-money laundering rules.”
Does MiCA pose “systemic” banking risks?
The EU’s MiCA regulation is set to take full effect on Dec. 30 and could introduce “systemic risks” to the banking sector, particularly for stablecoin reserves, according to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.
Under MiCA, stablecoin issuers will be required to hold a significant portion of their reserves, at least 60%, in European banks, creating a cause for concern when it comes to loans.
Ardoino explained that, due to banks’ ability to loan up to 90% of their reserves, the risks posed by MiCA regulatory requirements could create significant points of vulnerability for reserves if a bank holding them goes bankrupt.
@ Newshounds News™
Source: CoinTelegraph
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ANALYST: EUROPE IS SECRETLY PREPARING FOR A RENEWED GOLD STANDARD
Jan Nieuwenhuijs, an expert in gold markets, believes he has found evidence that Europe is preparing to adopt a new standard. He states that the recent movements of several Eastern European countries—purchasing or selling gold to reach a determined ratio—are part of the actions leading up to this development.
Analyst: Countries in Europe Equilibrating Gold Reserves to Adopt a Common Standard
Countries in Europe are getting ready to back their currency, at least partially, with gold. Jan Nieuwenhuijs, an expert in the movement of gold markets that follows central bank purchases, has found evidence that this is happening coordinately, even though central banks publicly deny it.
The root of this common understanding would be the 1999 Washington meeting that produced the Central Bank Gold Agreements, in which 15 central banks inked a pact to coordinate their gold sales and maintain a stable metal market.
On this agreement, Nieuwenhuijs stated:
For those paying close attention, it was obviously meant to equalize gold reserves among countries relative to GDP.
To justify his allegations, Nieuwenhuijs reports that the recent purchases from countries like Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic were directed to equilibrate their gold reserve to GDP ratio to the ones held by countries in the Eurozone. This is supported by statements made by Poland’s former Minister of Finance Konrad Raczkowski, directly commenting on these numbers.
Raczkowski assessed that Poland should purchase 120 tonnes of gold to reach the ratio maintained by several other countries in the Eurozone, 4% GDP. He declared:
It seems that in the near future, this will be the new gold standard for the entire eurozone. These reserves will have to be adjusted to the size of the economy.
Nonetheless, Nieuwenhuijs reports that, even with all the evidence surrounding these coordinated moves, central banks have continuously denied there is some kind of harmonization behind these exchanges. “Countless Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted throughout Europe, directed at central banks and Ministries of Finance, all yielded nil,” he stressed.
However, he has sometimes received negative answers to these petitions, with the Central Bank of Belgium stating that this information was “confidential,” obeying a central bank law that commanded the institution to maintain a “legal obligation of secrecy.”
In August, Nieuwenhuijs alleged that China, which had stopped purchasing gold according to reports, was secretly growing its reserves to take advantage of the price cool-off.
@ Newshounds News™
Source: Bitcoin News
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Source: Seeds of Wisdom Team RV Currency Facts
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