Ripple believes that digital assets will improve how money moves around the globe, not replace the traditional setup. This is why the company has strived to work with the global financial system, central banks and regulators to enhance the existing systems and processes with new technology. This is according to Ripple’s director of regulatory relations Ryan Zagone. In his blog post which came at the heels of his recent appearance to testify before the UK Parliament, Zagone also delved into how digital assets are neither good nor bad, it just depends on the use case.
Ryan referred to the solving of real-life problems as the reason that regulators are getting behind cryptos, referring to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an example. In her speech at the Authority for Consumers & Markets Conference in the Netherlands, Mary Stark, FCA’s director of competition talked about how the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are solving challenges that have plagued the financial services industry for decades.
More positively, we see firms using cryptocurrency for international money remittance, lowering the cost and time of sending money overseas. So there are legitimate and economically significant use cases.
In reiterating the role of cryptos as improving and not an overhaul of the financial services industry, Ryan further quoted the IMF’s Managing Director who in a recent blog post stated that cryptos are not here to eliminate the need for traditional financial institutions but to lead the diversification of the financial landscape. She added that digital assets and decentralized applications would enable “a better balance between centralized and de-centralized service providers, and a financial ecosystem that is more efficient and potentially more robust in resisting threats.”
The crypto industry and industry regulators should now focus on addressing the risk in the market today in a way that preserves the potential for new use cases to emerge, Ryan went on. These risks are however not a justification to fight the rise of digital currencies as these risks have always existed. Concerns about money laundering, consumer and investor protection and cybersecurity are not new and they can be addressed without stifling the advancement of the crypto industry.
Ryan remains optimistic that the conversation is evolving with more people becoming convinced that ‘an even-handed approach to digital asset regulation is best.’ This approach would enable the next era of global commerce and financial inclusion which is being brought to reality by digital currencies and blockchain technology.
