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While escalating trade conflict between China and the United States raises fears of a new currency war, more and more states are starting to create their own cryptocurrency. Some governments rely on these "cryptoactives", to get their economy out of a stalemate, others want to use it to circumvent an embargo imposed by the United States. Very volatile and subject to sometimes violent corrections, could these cryptocurrencies ever become an instrument of the monetary policy of the States?
First of all, what is a cryptocurrency, also called a cryptoactif? It is a virtual currency issued peer-to-peer without the control of a bank. Neither coin nor ticket, cryptocurrencies are a sequence of numbers stored on a computer in the form of blockchain , the blockchain . It is this technology that makes it possible to store and transmit information in a completely transparent and secure manner. "Minors" are used to validate transactions. Their job is to decode the blockchain, which allows to exchange these virtual currencies. This process consumes a lot of energy.
Tunisians are experimenting
Tunisia was the first to try to issue its own cryptocurrency. Since 2015, the Tunisian government is working on a sovereign bond project that would be issued in bitcoin , one of the flagship virtual currencies. A working group has been set up to study this initiative seriously. The governor of the country's Central Bank (BCT) has said in person that Bitcoin technologies and Hyperledger, the star of the blockchain development platforms, represent an effective tool for combating money laundering and cross-border terrorism. Tunisia is struggling desperately against these plagues, but its struggle is futile. In February 2018, the country was blacklisted by the European Parliament because of its exposure to money laundering and terrorist financing. It is for this reason that Bithumb, South Korea's largest purse of cryptocurrencies, has excluded Tunisia from its exchange platform. Before (irony of fate!) To be hacked by hackers.
Other countries followed in the footsteps of Tunisia: China, Russia, Iran, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, as well as Saudi Arabia jointly with the United Arab Emirates all embarked on the developing their own cryptocurrency. Among the European countries, Estonia launched in 2017 a consultation on the creation of a national cryptocurrency : l'estcoin . Tallinn wanted to offer it to 20,000 e-residents of the country, that is, foreign entrepreneurs who would like to start a business remotely via the internet. But it was stopped by the European Central Bank ( ECB ), which banned it from introducing its own national currency. Since the country is a member of the euro zone, any competition against the euro is prohibited.
For now, " no country has issued a cryptocurrency able to work, " notes Owen Simonin, founder of Just Mining, a company specializing in investment in cryptocurrencies. Most of the time, these government-supported projects are empty shells, with no trace in the real economy. Could this situation ever change?
Venezuela, a lot of noise for nothing
If we talk about mishaps, Venezuela is a good example! Inaugurated with great fanfare on November 5, 2018 the Venezuelan cryptocurrency, the petro , was to allow President Nicolas Maduro to bypass the US blockade and facilitate international transactions in a country where inflation reached record highs. 1,000,000%, it is the highest in the world. As the price of petro is indexed to the price of a barrel of crude, the Venezuelan state has committed to producing as many barrels as it would emit petro. Problem: Reuters journalists did their little investigation. They went to Atapirire, a small town of 1,300 people in the center of the country. The region was to provide the government of Caracas with the 5 billion barrels of annual crude oil needed to guarantee the issue of its cryptocurrency. On site: no oil, let alone petro, just broken roads and a hungry population, according to reporters. The petro has been relegated to oblivion.
Russia in the shadows
According to the American weekly Time , Russia would have helped Venezuela to set up its cryptocurrency project to escape the sanctions imposed by Washington. Russia, in fact, suffered the consequences of the European embargo imposed after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Moscow preferred to try the adventure with the Venezuelan bolivar, which is worth nothing, rather than with its own currency , the ruble, which she seeks to save from inflation. Certainly, the fashion of bitcoin is also passed by Moscow. The creation of the "cryptorouble" was ordered in 2017 by Russian President Vladimir Putin himself. But SberBank, the largest bank in Russia, responsible for its implementation had to suspend its projects because of a discord between the financial regulatory agency and the central bank of the country highly reticent with regard to the cryptocurrency industry.
Iran wants its own cryptocurrency
Bypassing the US embargo, removing his country from the financial dominance of the United States is the dream of the country of ayatollahs. Especially since there the energy needed to decode the virtual currency is among the cheapest in the world. Even though Iran banned bitcoin in 2018, a year later, the governor of the Iranian Central Bank (CBI) declared that the cryptocurrency sector (virtual currency, but indexed to oil) should be recognized. as an official industry in Iran to allow the country to benefit from its tax and customs revenues. Admittedly, private miners are prohibited from conducting their operations. They must contribute to the economy of the whole country.
Towards a " digital " yuan ?
A cryptocurrency under the tutelage of a state? China has thought of it too. Two years ago, work around a national cryptocurrency began under the auspices of the Chinese Central Bank. But at the same time, Beijing banned trade and financial transactions based on other cryptocurrencies. A decree would be in preparation to prohibit the extraction of bitcoin, as well as other foreign cryptocurrencies. Beijing considers that the facilities needed to mine these digital currencies are wasteful of resources and generate over-pollution. Clearly, China wants to remain in control of its national currency. Whether traditional or virtual.
The industrial revolution, Act 3
Many announcements, few facts. But the idea of a national cryptocurrency is still in the hands of the national banks of the countries concerned. " It would not surprise me that one day the euro will become cryptoeuro. That would not shock me , "admits Owen Simonin. But for the moment countries do not need it and they do not want it. " The financial system works very well from a state point of view. It is the citizens who find it ineffective and who think there are abuses, "says the CEO of Just Mining. According to him, some states have decided to create their own cryptocurrency for fear of seeing bitcoin gaining momentum. But eventually " a national cryptocurrency will emerge, nature and time must do their work ."
Better, the third industrial revolution, after those of steam in the eighteenth century, and oil in the nineteenth, would be running. Franck Guiader is convinced of this. According to the director of the cabinet Gide 255 and former director of the division Fintech, Innovation and Competitiveness within the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF): " We are witnessing a preparation for the tokenization of the economy. What is it ? This is the numeric representation of an asset on the blockchain. All industries will sooner or later use this technology, which represents a series of numbers in a form of block chains. It is exactly this type of technology that makes it possible to issue so-called cryptocurrencies or cryptoactives ".
A profound technological change
The digital economy is undergoing profound technological change. " Governments, Central Banks are analyzing the value of using this new technology, called the blockchain. The technological transition is under way. It has the same scope as the digital one thirty years ago, "says Franck Guiader. Europe is beginning to harmonize certain legal aspects of different cryptocurrencies. There is increasing awareness of the risks involved and the potential benefits. " Once industry, the real economy and civil society demonstrate their interest and ability to use this new language, then the language-based exchange tool will be created, " concludes Gide's director of cabinet 255. But this revolution is well and truly under way.
► See also: Fight against money laundering: Brussels tackles cryptocurrencies
►To listen again : States are starting to take an interest in cryptocurrencies