Soon after the world witnessed the evolution of cryptocurrencies, several mainstream companies started pouring into the industry. While a few platforms invested in the existing coins, firms like Facebook and JP Morgan decided to roll out their own. After mainstream organizations, banks started taking a keen interest in developing digital coins. The announcement of the world’s biggest banks collaborating to roll out digital currencies took the world by storm. However, the latest updates suggest a delay in the project.
Regulatory Hurdles Stand Tall Before Digitalization
The Utility Settlement Coin [USC] was a project put forth by the 13 of the largest banks in the world, including Credit Suisse, Barclays as well as Banco Santander. After a while, USC changed into Fnality International and was originally scheduled to roll out this year. However, the project will reportedly launch during the Q1 of 2021.
The project aims at launching digital versions of the U.S dollar, Canadian dollar, the Japanese yen, euro as well as the British pound. While the world was in anticipation of the launch of this project, regulations put a hold on it. The Chief Executive of Fnality International, Rhomaios Ram told Reuters that the project was still in need of regulatory approval.
The 13 banks involved in the project invested a whopping 50 million pounds. The project has reportedly been under development for the past five years and was operated by the USB Group AG. The banks involved in the project intend to steer towards digitalization by limiting paperwork that takes place during the transfer of funds.
This isn’t the first time regulations have come in the way of innovations. Social media giant, Facebook’s crypto venture, Libra is the perfect example of the above statement. The project was constantly subject to scrutiny from regulators across the globe and was delayed. Even though the magnitude of regulatory pressure of the Libra project and Fnality have a huge disparity, seeking regulatory approval has become quite a task. Stressing on the same, Ram added,
“The technology is the least complicated part of this whole thing.”