According to Newsbtc's July 29 report, the Australian government wants to ban cash payments of more than 10,000 Australian dollars (about $6,900) in goods and services. Interestingly, it excludes digital currencies such as Bitcoin from the limits, and says that if these regulations cover cryptographic assets, it is likely to hinder innovation.
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Although Bitcoin is excluded from the proposed ban, this restriction makes this unlicensed digital asset even more powerful and is currently being used in many countries around the world.
Restricting cash transactions is limiting freedom
Last week, the Australian Treasury Department said in a memo that it plans to ban cash payments in excess of AU$10,000. This means that all bulk purchases must first be authorized by the bank.
Australia will join several other countries with similar restrictions on cash transactions. CryptoRand, a cryptocurrency analysis company, emphasized this earlier on Twitter earlier today.
Crypto Rand's statement on Twitter is like this:
Government limits on cash transactions:
– Australia:: $10,000 – Spain: $25,000 – France: $1,000 – Italy: $1,000 – Portugal: $1,000 – Greece: $15,000
If the government controls the cash, they will control you. But they can't control Bitcoin.
The exact number of restrictions mentioned in the above tweets has been questioned. For example, someone replied that the Italian limit is actually 3,000 euros.
In fact, there is no difference in the exact number of limits. The government should be the public servant of the people, but it completely controls your spending. This should be seen as a paralysis of individual freedom.
Such government policies highlight the importance of creating asset classes such as Bitcoin. As a completely unlicensed system, Bitcoin can be released without a central authority, and users can freely make their favorite transactions on the network.
Australia does not intend to restrict cryptocurrency transactions
Interestingly, the Australian government stated that it has no plans to impose such a ban on cryptocurrency payments. The reason for excluding cryptocurrencies from the ban is that the only way to limit the use of bitcoin and other digital assets for digital payments is to take drastic measures against the entire industry. Given the potential for innovation in this area, the Australian government is reluctant to do so. The memo wrote:
“Digital currency is an emerging development area in the Australian economy. Unlike physical currency, it does not have a solid regulatory framework or industry structure. This makes it difficult to impose a limit on how to limit cash payments, and This approach will not largely prevent Australia from using digital currency, nor will it significantly inhibit innovation in the industry."
The fiat currency is easier to control because most people put it in a bank account, and the government can simply instruct the bank to ban withdrawals that exceed the specified limit. For cryptocurrencies, there is no way for the government to simply implement the limit unless it limits the entire industry. But whether this is successful or not is another matter.
