Sri Lanka Central Bank Warns Against Use of Virtual Currencies
- The central bank of Sri Lanka recently published a notice about the use of cryptocurrencies amid the economic woes in the country.
- The notice was titled, “Public Awareness in Relation to the Use of Virtual Currencies in Sri Lanka.”
The central bank of Sri Lanka recently warned against the use of virtual currencies amid the ongoing economic and political crisis, a recent report revealed.
Sri Lanka Warns Against Cryptocurrencies
The central bank believes the use of virtual currencies amid such an economic situation may not mean something good for the country.
The notice was titled, “Public Awareness in Relation to the Use of Virtual Currencies in Sri Lanka.”
According to the report, the central bank noted that virtual currencies are largely unregulated digital representations of value that are issued by private entities. The bank explained that virtual currencies are considered unregulated financial instruments. As such, virtual currencies including cryptocurrencies have not been able to gain a firm foothold as the bank cited that they have no regulatory oversight or safeguards relating to their usage in Sri Lanka.
On this note, the bank warned that it has not authorized or issued any license to give any entity or company the go-ahead to operate schemes involving VCs. This includes cryptocurrencies as well. Following efforts to avoid any sort of crypto-related programs, the central bank also informed that it has not authorized any initial coin offerings (ICO), mining operations, or virtual currency exchanges in Sri Lanka.
The Struggles
Sri Lanka has been struggling with a distressing economic situation lately. Some economists are ostensibly blaming India for Sri Lanka’s woes due to its geographical position. Nevertheless, the country’s poor leadership is to take responsibility for resource mismanagement.
The crisis has caused the country to struggle with acute shortages of essentials such as food, fuel, cooking gas, and medicines, according to reports.
Following concerns to save the country’s economy, the central bank has been taking several measures to manage the economic and political situation. The country had recently requested credit support from the Russian leader to help the country import fuel.
A recent report also disclosed that the country’s central bank had raised its key interest rates to their highest levels in more than 20 years. This measure was taken to try to contain inflation that has added to the country’s economic woes.
According to the notice issued by the central bank, it has warned the public not to fall prey to various types of VC schemes offered through the Internet as well as other forms of media.
The bank warned that contradictory actions would put them on the verge of possible exposure to significant financial, operational, legal, and security-related risks.
Rebecca is a Senior Staff Writer at BitcoinWisdom, working hard to bring you the latest breaking news in the cryptocurrency market. In the words of Elon Musk “Buy stock in several companies that make products & services that *you* believe in. Only sell if you think their products & services are trending worse. Don’t panic when the market does. This will serve you well in the long-term.”
