Governmental digest: what Japan, Gibraltar, Ukraine and Nigeria officials think about cryptocurrency

Governments of the world are trying to keep the balance between the possible benefits from cryptocurrency markets and their own desire to control the financial system as it was before cryptocurrencies were born.

This is why Gibraltar and Japan will monitor cryptocurrency financial markets closer soon. While Gibraltar plans to establish the legislative framework on previously unregulated ICOs from January 2018, the Japanese government, or, to be more precise, its Financial Services Agency, is to put cryptocurrency exchanges in the country under close observation starting October 2017. The executive from the FSA said they try to keep the market development sound while enforcing the regulations. Gibraltar authorities, in turn, plan not only to regulate ICOs, but also to implement blockchain for state needs.

After that strange approach Namibia has taken, the Nigerian officials, namely the Deputy Director of the Payments System Policy and Oversight in the Central Bank of Nigeria, seem to have a sounder judgement on the cryptocurrency matter: the waves generated by the blockchain tech and its derivatives cannot be stopped, Musa Jimoh believes, although the white paper on cryptocurrency is planned for issue soon. The CBN will regulate cryptocurrency instead of its restriction.

Ukrainian officials, in turn, are not ready to recognize cryptocurrency as a means of payment, as there is no central coin issuer. This is the current opinion of the Deputy Head of the Ukrainian central bank, or the National Bank of Ukraine. However, in previous statements, the government of Ukraine signaled it is not going to fully ban cryptocurrency activities or impose draconian laws on altcoins.