This month the Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra stated upon crypto regulation in the Netherlands and in the European Union.

This letter is presented to the press on March 8, 2018 by the minister of finance of Netherlands. Wopke Hoekstra speaks about the matters of cryptocurrency oversight and regulation.

Hoekstra warns about 500,000 Dutch holders of Bitcoin / Ethereum that “the investment in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency is not risk-free.”

What about the crypto regulation?

Wopke Hoekstra, the Finance Minister, explains that virtual currencies lack the basic guarantees that offers the government-issued currencies. He also concerns about money laundering and terrorist usage of cryptocurrencies.

Hoekstra suggested a four-part approach:

• Gaps in consumer and investor protection must come into contact, but measures must be proportionate.
• The integrity of the financial system has to promise with certainty
• The innovative techniques behind cryptocurrency, such as cryptography and distributed ledger technology (DLT), must keep the safe way.
• The cross-border nature of cryptocurrency requires one approach at the international level. National rules, which are difficult to maintain can easily change.

The Finance Minister promised to “consult” with credit card companies in regards with cryptocurrency acquisitions.

Hoekstra appreciated the European Commission’s activity related to cryptocurrency, and acknowledged calls for virtual currency regulation by his counterparts in France and Germany.

He also encouraged cooperative efforts, like the discussions which will take place at the G20.

The finance minister thought that the Dutch central government is “not active as an investor and therefore does not [undertake] speculative investments”. This is a policy that extends to cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.

In conclusion, Hoekstra has promised to “dedicate” himself to a “European approach to ICOs,” likely in recognition of the European Commission’s recent FinTechaction plan.

Source: https://www.ethnews.com