Governor Centeno Calls for Global Crypto Regulation Framework

The governor of Banco de Portugal, Mário Centeno, joins a chorus of regulators in claiming that national initiatives to regulate cryptocurrencies would not be effective without a global framework.

In his inaugural address at the 2023 Banco de Portugal Financial Stability Conference on October 2, Centeno called for international cooperation to establish a “robust framework” and prevent “regulatory arbitrage.”

“It would be short-sighted to believe that regulating and supervising these global risks and international players at the national level will suffice.”

Centeno, speaking of crypto assets and decentralized finance, mentioned the “undeniable risk” of their long-term viability.

The official expressed skepticism regarding the democratizing potential of digital assets and even their long-term viability.

Centeno lauded the European Union’s first comprehensive crypto framework, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, but insisted on further international consolidation of regulatory efforts following the principle “same risk, same regulation.”

“These volatile products experienced an enormous surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic but proved to be unsustainable and, unsurprisingly, culminated in the collapse of several products.”

The executive director of strategy, policy, and supervision at the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority recently expressed similar sentiments.

Rupert Schaefer questioned the global anomalies that exist in a blog post that he wrote. In the post, he acknowledged the apparent progress that has been made in the regulation of crypto with the installation of MiCA in the EU.

During the annual G20 summit in August, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also called for global cooperation in the development of cryptographic regulations.