What is especially important to have on the radar in the new year in the crypto world? We have identified eight different topics on which a lot will happen next year. Crypto payments are still a long way from being widely adopted.
This article is part of a cooperation and was originally published on 10×10.ch
Concept crypto currencies for daily use
Over the past years, the Bitcoin community has increasingly come to understand that mainchain Bitcoins (as opposed to Lightning Bitcoin) are primarily used as a store of value in the (speculative) market, not as a generally accepted means of payment. Nevertheless, the expectation remains that cryptoassets should also be used in everyday use for trading goods and services. However, due to its incomparably high liquidity and familiarity, Bitcoin is again being brought into play as the most obvious option. At best, DAI, which is probably better suited as the most decentralized stablecoin, could change this.
New regulations for crypto-financial service providers
In Switzerland, a letter of intent from Bitcoin Suisse and the payment and transaction service Worldline has caused a stir. Together they want to enable the acceptance of crypto currencies at POS terminals and in online shops by 2020. Wordline has access to more than 85,000 terminals in Switzerland and several 100,000 in Europe. The fact that an established giant like Worldline has ventured into this field shows that they are serious and want to make their crypto payment offering as competitive as possible. The project is not a foregone conclusion, as everything points to crypto payments becoming more expensive. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has announced that (financial) service providers will be subject to new regulations to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in transactions with virtual assets (VA).
FATF "Travel Rule"
In the future, the so-called "travel rule" is to be applied, which is already known from classic bank payment transactions. The rule states that the details of the originator and the beneficiary must be transmitted together with the payment order. Finma was the first regulator ever to adopt these rules and prescribe them for transactions with crypto currencies if a financial intermediary is involved. Security tokens are not affected by this regulation, neither by the FAFT nor by Finma. Work is already underway to find solutions for Swiss companies so that they can best master the regulation.
