Singapore central bank chief said on Monday that he hopes blockchain, the underlying technology of digital currencies such as bitcoin, would not be affected by an ultimate crash in the price of cryptocurrencies, Reuters reported.
Ravi Menon, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said:
“I do hope when the fever has gone away, when the crash has happened, it will not undermine the much deeper, and more meaningful technology associated with digital currencies and blockchain.”
In addition, Menon also spoke on the possibility of central bank issued digital currency for the public. He said that he would not rule out the possibility, but wasn’t sure if it was a good idea.
Last month, the MAS urged investors to understand the risks when considering cryptocurrency-related investments. In August 2017, the central bank had said that it will regulate the offer or issue of digital tokens if they constitute products regulated under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA).
At the same time, Singapore has been pushing ahead in its blockchain efforts as it tries to position itself as a fintech hub. The MAS has entered into fintech agreements with other central banks including the Bank of Canada and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
In addition, the MAS completed Project Ubin’s Phase 2 in October 2017 and successfully produced three software prototypes that achieved decentralised netting of payments, in a manner that preserved transactional privacy. Project Ubin is a collaborative initiative to explore the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for clearing and settlement of payments and securities.
