A policy advisor for the Netherlands’ central bank has claimed that Bitcoin price changes coincide with Google searches for the cryptocurrency, CNBC reports Friday, August 31. In an interview with the network Wednesday, De Nederlandsche Bank’s Joost van der Burgt said that the trend became clearer last December with the advent of the first Bitcoin futures hitting the market. “Every time bitcoin was in the news, be it positive or negative, the price went up accordingly,” he said. Bitcoin’s failure to compensate for losses which began in the last weeks of 2017 has sparked various theories about its future prospects …

An executive at the Dutch Central Bank has said that while cryptocurrencies are not “real money,” the bank has no plans to ban them, local news outlet Dutch News reported August 3. The divisional director of the Dutch Central Bank, Petra Hielkema, told Dutch News that due to the volatility of cryptocurrencies and the possibility for consumer risks, it cannot be considered as money, “If something wants to be treated as money, you have to be able to spend, save and calculate with it [...] So we do not consider it [cryptocurrency] to be money as such.” Hielkema also noted …

Major U.S. cryptocurrency wallet and exchange Coinbase has entered the crypto gift card market, allowing customers in certain countries to exchange coins for brand e-certificates, according to their July 25 blog post. In the post, Coinbase confirmed the new option was made possible through a partnership with UK-based startup WeGift, and will effectively allow cryptocurrency holders to pay for goods and services through brands such as Nike, Tesco, Uber, Google Play, Ticketmaster, and Zalando: “Starting today, Coinbase customers in the EU and Australia are able to instantly spend their cryptocurrency balances on e-gift cards, making us the first trading platform …

Amsterdam-based speed trader Flow Traders NV has entered the cryptocurrency market despite the warnings of the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) not to buy and sell digital currencies, Bloomberg reported July 5. Europe’s largest trader of exchange-traded funds Flow Traders NV is reportedly the first firm to buy and sell exchange-traded notes based on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). According to Bloomberg, such publicly traded notes could broaden the appeal of crypto by making it easier and cheaper to invest. Co-Chief Executive Officer of Flow Traders NV Dennis Dijkstra said that cryptocurrencies are underestimated, adding: “It’s big, and …

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched an international taskforce together with tax enforcement authorities from four other countries to take on cryptocurrency-enabled crimes, according to a press release published Monday, July 2. The new coalition, dubbed ‘The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement,’ or ‘J5,’ comprises tax enforcement agencies from five countries in total –– Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, alongside the U.S. As part of J5, the agencies will cooperate on intelligence and criminal investigations “to reduce the growing threat to tax administrations posed by cryptocurrencies and cybercrime,” as well as to target transnational …

The Port of Rotterdam Authority has signed a cooperation agreement with Dutch blockchain startup CargoLedger to use the technology for cargo tracking, Transport Online reported yesterday, June 14th. As part of its PortXL annual accelerator, the port authority has partnered with CargoLedger to implement a blockchain solution for tracking shiploads. The technology will be applied in order to improve quality control in supply chains and establish a transparent and secure system to innovate the management and handling of cargo. The blockchain system will record and process data from labeled shiploads, which can be scanned by receivers in Rotterdam’s ports in …

The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) raised “doubts” as to whether entities dealing in cryptocurrency conform to licensing laws, according to an official letter June 13. In a letter sent to market participants looking to offer cryptocurrency investment opportunities, the regulator said the “risks” associated with them meant that such companies could fall short of any licensing obligations. “The AFM has serious doubts, partly because of the risks associated with cryptos and their management,” the letter reads. Cryptocurrency investment is not subject to regulation under the Netherlands’ Financial Supervision Act, but certain activities may require providers to obtain …

Blockchain technology is not yet ready for implementation in financial markets, according to a report by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) on June 7. After three years of experimenting with Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), of which blockchain is one type, DNB — the central bank of the Netherlands — has concluded that the current algorithms are unable to handle the volume of transactions of financial market infrastructures in a 100%-secure and energy-efficient way. According to the bank’s report, DNB has developed and evaluated four prototypes with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the technology and its potential usefulness for …

The Netherlands’ Land Registry is expected to test blockchain technology for national real estate data, local tech platform Computable reported Thursday, May 31. Koen Huisstede, an enterprise architect at the Land Registry, has said that the institution is seeking to understand what the “relatively new” technology means for the property sphere, and expects a blockchain solution will be integrated into its system “within one to three years.” The Land Registry is tasked with overseeing ownership, mortgage rights, and all third-party data related to the national property market, and is reportedly seeking to explore the technical, legal and governance aspects of …

A branch of the Dutch government has recently released an economic risk report, claiming that cryptocurrencies present a low risk to financial stability in the country, according to a report published on May 29. The CPB states in the report that at the current time, cryptocurrencies pose a low risk to the financial system due to the low level of capitalization, as well as the limited involvement of traditional financial institutions and systems. The CPB separately noted the problems associated with crypto’s use in crime financing, fraud, high crypto market volatility, and the energy consumption of crypto mining. The report …

On May 8, 2018 it was reported that the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy had created a unit tasked with researching the further development of blockchain across technology. This could represent a major step forward for the adoption and application of blockchain technology as governments are not only taking the new technology seriously with their regulatory work on the cryptocurrency side of things, but now they are actively looking into the benefits of the technology. Blockchain technology is now on the cusp of a new wave of adoption that is running concurrently, but separately from cryptocurrencies. The …

Rabobank, a major Dutch bank with €681 bln under management, roughly equal to $838 bln, is looking into options for developing a cryptocurrency wallet within its online banking environment, according to a press release published Feb. 28. The idea of a digital wallet for the bank’s own cryptocurrency project “Rabobit” was offered under the bank’s internal “Moonshot” program. The program encourages Rabobank’s employees to propose innovative ideas which can be further developed by the bank. Although the bank’s official selection of “Moonshot” ideas for actual implementation will be announced in mid-June, Rabobank has already launched a one-page website to promote …