Dutch gov’t watching French-German cryptocurrency regulations before G20 summit

Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Finance is looking forward to seeing what his French and German colleagues come up with in regards to cryptocurrency regulations. The French and German Finance Ministers plan to present their proposal at the G20 summit in March, RTL Z reports.

Hoekstra said that "once it is there" he will study the proposed regulations "with attention" and then "see what we will do in the Netherlands", according to the broadcaster.

Last week French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and his his German colleague Peter Altmaier announced that they are working together on regulations for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ephereum. "We have a responsibility to our citizens to properly explain and limit the risks", Altmaier said at a joint press conference in Paris. They will present their proposal at the G20 summit in Argentina in March, which the Netherlands will attend at the invitation of the host country. 

Germany and France aren't the only countries working on regulations for monitoring the trade in cryptocurrency. Last week news agency Reuters reported, based on a report in its possession, that a Chinese central banker is calling for a ban on trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Speculations on stricter supervision caused Bitcoin values to plummet early last week.

Hoekstra once again warned Dutch to listen carefully to warnings from the authority on financial markets AFM and Dutch central bank DNB before investing in cryptocurrencies. "Look before you leap", he said to the broadcaster. People have to decide for themselves whether they will invest in cryptocurrency, he added, but "it is extremely risky".