I’m now working for the Insurance and Banking industry since more than 30 years.
For an IT guy the last ten years have been very boring ones often as most IT Euros spent were regulation motivated.
The newest ones for example are
MFID II and
PSD2, both starting this year.
But in spite of so many attempts, Euros, Dollars, laws, rules…to make the banking world more secure, more transparent, more resilient and more fair we are currently entering the most unregulated and anarchic finance times ever, at least as far as I can remember.
With Blockchain, Bitcoin, all the cryptocurrencies, ICOs and other ‘New Fintech kids on the block’ we are deploying – in my eyes – a
totally unregulated and anarchic new payment and investment eco system.
One might point to the many chances and to the innovation power behind (what I confirm), but nobody really sees or at least deals with the risks yet.
Take
this lastest story behind kraken.com. One the of the largest cryptocurrency trading and payment platforms.
Kraken wanted to go offline for a two hours maintenance release, is now back, but has been offline for nearly three days. But the
system still seems to stay on a shaky foundation and
any withdrawals are forbidden.
I really don’t know if theseare legal and compliant actions, in any country kraken.com operates, but even if it is, this smells like the Big Depression where banks closed their counters to protect themselves.
And it’s no longer just a gambling of minorities, if one considers the transaction volumes and what is done with all the coins traded here.
And what we all want to do with in the future.
We, in Europe, must get back into the driver seat.
Innovation is important, but
more important is controlled and regulated innovation. Best would be if regulation and innovation would from the very early stage on innovate together, like security and tech already do today.
We all know what unregulated finance innovations can do with all us. Does anybody remember the name Lehman Brothers btw.?
I really don’t know if theseare legal and compliant actions, in any country kraken.com operates, but even if it is, this smells like the Big Depression where banks closed their counters to protect themselves.
And it’s no longer just a gambling of minorities, if one considers the transaction volumes and what is done with all the coins traded here.
And what we all want to do with in the future.
We, in Europe, must get back into the driver seat.
Innovation is important, but more important is controlled and regulated innovation. Best would be if regulation and innovation would from the very early stage on innovate together, like security and tech already do today.
We all know what unregulated finance innovations can do with all us. Does anybody remember the name Lehman Brothers btw.?