GLOBAL VIEWS

Cryptocurrency developments around the world:

Bitcoin and its peers are legal in most countries, though many including India do not recognise them as legal tender. Holding and trading of cryptocurrencies is legal in most countries but regulation of exchanges, tax treatment and other rules governing the sector vary widely.

Facebook has banned advertising for cryptocurrencies and ICOs. Google will enact a ban starting in June on many “unregulated” and “speculative” financial products including cryptocurrency. And Twitter last week said it would ban ads for ICOs, cryptocurrency wallets and token sales very soon. It is also considering a ban on cryptocurrency exchange advertisements.

Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has urged regulators to crack down on cryptocurrencies given their potential to be a “major new vehicle for money laundering and the financing of terrorism”

Stefan Hofrichter, head of global economics and strategy at Allianz Global Investors, says: “Bitcoin mania is a textbook-like bubble — and one that is probably just about to burst”

Jack Tatar, co-author of Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor’s Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond, says: “We also have the threat and lack of clarity about regulations which is also weighing on the entire cryptoasset space, not just bitcoin”