Bitcoin is yet to prove its worth. We’ll need to keep an eye on it, says Japan’s finance minister
Japanese finance minister Taro Aso has questioned the creditability of bitcoin.
Aso said there was “no fixed definition” on whether the cryptocurrency was a currency or not.
“This issue is a difficult one,” he said after a cabinet meeting.
The comments come after his French counterparty said he would propose a discussion on the regulation of bitcoin at next year’s G20 summit.
Aso also highlighted cryptocurrencies have not taken hold in Japan in the same way as the likes of China, adding the Japanese preferred hard currency.
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He said:
It has not yet been proven to be credible enough to become a currency, so I need to watch for a little while more.
Overnight, bitcoin made modest gains after falling from its peak of almost $20,000 on Sunday. Shortly after 6pm, it was trading at $18,324.
Yesterday, Japanese bank Nomura issued a report detailing its predictions for 2018. In it, the lender suggested bitcoin’s bubble would not burst and a so-called grey swan event would be bitcoin’s “continued rise”.
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