Sri Lanka establishes a committee to oversee blockchain and cryptocurrency development.

The Sri Lankan government has formed an eight-member commission. As part of the newly established committed, fintech specialists and banking authorities have been enlisted. The committee members will be observing the laws and regulations put in place by other countries that embrace cryptocurrencies as part of their investigation. Concerns aside, Sri Lanka will look at measures to limit the possibility of cryptocurrency being used for terrorist funding, money laundering, and other illegal activities.

The director-general of Sri Lanka’s government information, Mohan Samaranayake, has revealed that the authorities have accepted a plan aimed at attracting greater investment into the country’s cryptocurrency industry.

“The need to develop an integrated system of digital banking, blockchain, and cryptocurrency mining technologies has been highlighted in order to keep pace with regional partners while extending commerce to worldwide markets,” the Sri Lankan government stated in a statement. In China, crypto mining has been designated as a “negative” industry in order to discourage investment.

According to Cryptovibes, the brains behind this initiative is Namal Rajapaksa, the minister of project coordinating and monitoring. The committee will also have to submit its conclusions to the Cabinet of Acts, Rules, and Regulations for consideration.

Sri Lanka has now joined the ranks of other southern Asian countries such as Vietnam, India, and Pakistan in enabling the crypto sector to expand. El Salvador, a Central American country, legalized Bitcoin as legal money alongside the US dollar earlier this month.

Sri Lanka’s director-general of government information, Mohan Samaranayake, published a letter on October 8 showing that the authorities had already accepted a recent plan aimed at attracting a lot of investment in the country’s blockchain and crypto industries.

From July 2021 to June 2021, there was a 706 percent growth in Central and Southern Asia and Oceania, according to recent data. According to Chainalysis’ statistics, the value of transactions in these areas increased by 14% ($572.5 billion), with India accounting for the largest worldwide transaction value.

Sri Lanka’s central bank published a public notice in April 2021 warning against most of the dangers associated with cryptocurrency investments, noting a lack of legal and regulatory remedies. However, less than a month following the announcement, the central bank selected three banks to develop a proof-of-concept for a shared Know Your Customer facility based on blockchain.

source: gadgets.ndtv.com