Senators in Australia are putting their political differences aside and are banding together to urge the Reserve Bank to back bitcoin as an official currency.
According to Labor senator Sam Dastyari and Liberal senator Jane Hume if the Reserve Bank of Australia doesn’t embrace the digital currency it could risk Australia’s future competitiveness, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
As part of their efforts to get the central bank on board Dastyari and Hume have formed a group called the Parliamentary Friends of Blockchain.
The efforts from the lawmakers comes at a time when bitcoin broached the $3,400 mark for the first time in its history, with $3,500 easily within sight. With the digital currency gaining prominence in value and increased adoption it has suddenly become a contender in the financial sector.
So much so, that Australia’s lawmakers want the central bank to create its own digital currency and blockchain to use on the market.
Already this year, the government of the Australian state of Victoria announced that it had become a member of the Australian Digital Currency and Commerce Association (ADCCA) in its bid to explore commercial blockchain applications.
Philip Dalidakis, Victoria’s minister for small business, innovation and trade, said that it gives the government a better understanding of the technology.
He added:
This [membership] will give our FinTech startups and entrepreneurs the best possible chance of succeeding.
Ronald Tucker, the chairman of the ADCCA, said that a digital currency in Australia that was backed by the government would cut settlement times.
He said:
It would be an auditor’s dream because you’ll be able to see any transaction that moves on it.
In April, it was reported that the Reserve Bank was studying the blockchain for the financial system. According to the report, the central bank underlined blockchain technology as an aspect of FinTech that “has been examined closely.”
