James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The value of the online cryptocurrency Bitcoin fluctuated again on the markets overnight. This has all the hallmarks of a bubble, with dubious transactions taking place on certain exchanges and significant market volatility. Despite this, Ireland has still not introduced regulations on cryptocurrencies. While people are entitled to do as they wish with their money, there is a risk of contagion and market instability, not to mention the potential for criminality and money laundering. This has been recognised by the European Banking Authority since 2013, but its recognition has yet to make its way to this jurisdiction.

Not long ago, we considered credit default swaps and contracts for difference to be esoteric instruments unworthy of local scrutiny. We found out the hard way that this was untrue. I submitted a number of parliamentary questions to the Department of Finance seeking clarity on the risk mitigation, planning or governance measures in place for cryptocurrencies. It replied that it hoped to have something in place towards the end of 2018. I am not sure that an issue as volatile as this can wait for a year, given the risk we have seen in the past. Let us hope we have learned from previous crashes and will act to address the risk of market contagion by bringing forward regulations in this area.

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