MasterCard at Australia Senate Inquiry: Bitcoin Needs Transparency, Licensing and Consumer Protections
MasterCard made a submission to Australia's Senate Economics Committee for the ongoing inquiry into digital currencies.
In it, MasterCard Australasia's Division President, Eddie Grabler, expressed concern over the pseudo-anonymity of digital currencies. Mt. Gox is cited as an example where such anonymity has made it practically impossible to recover funds for investors. Even though addresses and transactions are publicly visible, this is of little value if they can't be linked to real identities.
Bitcoin and Ripple were listed as example digital currencies.
In MasterCard's view, "All participants in the Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term system that provide similar services to consumers should be regulated in the same way to achieve a level playing field for all."
Like the ATO submission, rulings from other countries are referenced. But instead of Germany and the US, it's Russia, China and India. "Russia deemed digital currencies as an unlawful substitute for money and is planning to pass a law in 2015 that would ban digital currencies," while China and India have forbade financial institutions from dealing in it. The absence of a trusted third party and AML/TF concerns drove authorities in these countries to take such measures. FinCEN regulations in the US are also referenced.
In summation, MasterCard recommends (1) that all transactions proceed through "regulated and transparent administrators subject to supervision by Australia authorities (rather than just the current Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term process)," (2) licensing for digital currency transmitters and (3) that consumer protections be established.
MasterCard made a submission to Australia's Senate Economics Committee for the ongoing inquiry into digital currencies.
In it, MasterCard Australasia's Division President, Eddie Grabler, expressed concern over the pseudo-anonymity of digital currencies. Mt. Gox is cited as an example where such anonymity has made it practically impossible to recover funds for investors. Even though addresses and transactions are publicly visible, this is of little value if they can't be linked to real identities.
Bitcoin and Ripple were listed as example digital currencies.
In MasterCard's view, "All participants in the Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term system that provide similar services to consumers should be regulated in the same way to achieve a level playing field for all."
Like the ATO submission, rulings from other countries are referenced. But instead of Germany and the US, it's Russia, China and India. "Russia deemed digital currencies as an unlawful substitute for money and is planning to pass a law in 2015 that would ban digital currencies," while China and India have forbade financial institutions from dealing in it. The absence of a trusted third party and AML/TF concerns drove authorities in these countries to take such measures. FinCEN regulations in the US are also referenced.
In summation, MasterCard recommends (1) that all transactions proceed through "regulated and transparent administrators subject to supervision by Australia authorities (rather than just the current Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term process)," (2) licensing for digital currency transmitters and (3) that consumer protections be established.