Blockchain: A dream shared by bankers, police and regulators?

In January 2016, mainstream banks and technology companies began to publicly announce the use of blockchain-related technologies to revolutionize their business models. Contrary to the overthrow of the status quo advocated by many Bitcoin enthusiasts, the early blockchain industry wants to make the work of governments and enterprises more efficient.

However, Bitcoin enthusiasts were originally composed of many anarchist and anti-establishment individuals, and these individuals and organizations are increasingly supporting the integration of blockchain with the existing "establishment".

Early Bitcoin supporters often blindly believed that Bitcoin would dismantle the modern financial system controlled by governments and significantly reduce government taxes and bank transfer fees.

Blockchain participants are not very interested in destroying existing rights structures, but rather in adjusting and optimizing these structures.

Chris Kitze, CEO of Safe Cash Payment Technology, was more pertinent after investigating how blockchain technology could help regulators and the legacy financial industry. He even went so far as to say that Bitcoin is illegal.

At the recent Bitcoin Conference in Los Angeles on March 7, he said:

“While Bitcoin is an amazing technology, it may not be a legal model because there are no know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering laws.”

KYC and AML refer to “Know Your Customer” and “Anti-Money Laundering” respectively. These are requirements for banks or financial institutions that have cash flow. If you are a money service business (MSB) or money transmitter (MT), you must follow the legal requirements to identify the customers of your business.

All that is usually required is a government-issued ID, proof of address, such as an electric bill, social security, name, and some other information – measures that Bitcoin enthusiasts often scorn. In the United States, these requirements are similar to those in the European Union. In some cases, financial transactions must even be reported to government agencies.

Kitts said:

“These requirements are common practice around the world. KYC will be used for many other things; for example, if you want strong encryption, you will need KYC, you will need KYC, and that’s what we are thinking about.”

Kitts also shared a case study of one of his clients exploring blockchain adoption.

He said:

“A small to medium-sized bank has also approached us about implementing blockchain. The reason they are going to use blockchain is that they are going to save money on KYC. They are going to automate the KYC process. KYC will be done on the blockchain because it will make things very simple for the customer. You need this.”

Christa Steele, former CEO of Mechanics Bank and a board member, founder and manager of a consulting firm, believes that blockchain technology can be used to disrupt criminal systems.

She asked the audience at the Blockchain Summit:

“Why can’t we overhaul the entire criminal justice system?”

She shared a personal use case with her husband, who is a member of law enforcement.

She regretted:

"He's calling people in right now, and they have a felon. Don't know what type of felony. I want to know if I pulled the person over. There's no way, so they have to go check five to five different systems to get the information. What if we tied that information together? What would that mean in the context of what's going on? Because you have to tie it all together through the criminal justice system, prosecution and jail time."

John Wolpert, product manager at IBM Blockchain Technologies, shared his vision for using blockchain in real life.

He said:

“Our team sees compliance as a big issue.”

A lot of people are talking about blockchain regulation. Most of the time they are thinking about [regulation in blockchain-based banking systems].

“Like Kitts and Steele, Walport believes blockchain technology will revolutionize regulation.”

IBM’s global head of blockchain supply said:

“You can use Frank’s bill on the blockchain, you can also use tax exemption codes. I hope there won’t be tax filings, any transaction will be a ‘tax tag,’ it will be [an automated process], all the rules will be written into the blockchain.”

Walport also mentioned that if he had to choose anywhere other than Los Angeles, he would choose Washington.

“Not to convince regulators to regulate banks, but because I think blockchain is what regulators dream of.”

Original article: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/blockchain-bankers-officers-regulators/
Author: Rootstock
Translator: Next
Editor: Kyle
Reward address: 1Mwmes1CAwgvy5SEpjPAkbnp94BYtsRw66
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/blockchain-bankers-officers-regulators)