Michael D’Arcy, Minister of State at Ireland’s Department of Finance, spoke to Sibos TV about why Ireland remains cautious about Libra.
In Brief:
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D’Arcy said the Irish government’s stance on Facebook’s stablecoin was “somewhere between cautious and very cautious”.
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However the government does see the potential of blockchain in general.
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The government is creating an innovation district to boost FinTech.
What does this mean?
D’Arcy expressed that he was on the cautious side of “cautious and very cautious” as he sees the potential of Libra. “I see the benefit that can happen for consumers in relation to Libra or any other stablecoin,” he told SIBOS.
“We understand the benefit a stablecoin will have internationally – it’s both an opportunity and a challenge,” said D’Arcy. He explained that the challenge it poses is to governmental policy and monetary policy, and added that regulation has yet to ‘catch up’. “Regulation tends to catch up only when it has to… we don’t want to end up with regulation catching up too late.”
D’Arcy said he can see the benefit of Libra in “the conversations that are being held”, adding that the Irish government sees blockchain as a technology that’s worth exploring and could be complementary to its existing financial services sector. A major pillar of Ireland’s finance strategy is innovation and technology, and the country will be establishing an innovation district to promote crossover between finance and technology.
