Baku, Azerbaijan, March 31
By Huseyn Valiyev – Trend:
International Data Corporation (IDC) is ready to provide consulting support to Azerbaijan's state sector regarding its stance on cryptocurrencies, IDC Regional Manager for Central Asia and Azerbaijan Andrew Beklemishev told Trend.
He said that the issue has not been discussed yet. However, he did not exclude that in the future it will become relevant and be subject of discussions.
"If we talk about legal regulation, then we can bring up the experience of some countries. There are countries that recognized cryptocurrency, others categorically banned it, while some countries took a neutral, wait-and-see position. In general, we should understand that there are cryptocurrencies, for example, their banning in Azerbaijan will not allow the country's citizens to buy them for manats. And this, in turn, contributes to the fact that citizens will buy cryptocurrencies outside the country for another currency. Then, the economy will lose money," Beklemishev said.
The market of cryptocurrencies, as Beklemishev said, is an innovation and it is very difficult to regulate it.
"There are no specific examples and it is impossible to say that this or that country has many years of experience in this area. We can't say it is good or bad. Everyone began to think about it only since last year. However, many are afraid of making the first step. And, probably, an important advice for each government is first of all to understand what kind of technology it is, what is behind it. Secondly, to make effort to make the most balanced decision, having talked also with local players," he said.
In some countries, according to Beklemishev, the financial sector is very dependent on the latest financial technologies, and the ban on cryptocurrencies can greatly affect current processes.
On the other hand, he said there are countries, where ban of cryptocurrencies won't make a difference, since the majority of population in such countries don't even use bank cards.
"We are always glad to share fundamental research with the state bodies. The matter is the trends that we see in global markets and in the markets of individual countries. With the emergence of new technologies, the situation is changing rapidly. Today, many are experimenting with various technologies, including artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, etc. New solutions are emerging," he said
"Another issue is blockchain technology, which has the right for existence. There are examples of its use, and our task is to share information with the government of Azerbaijan in order to apply this technology in a balanced manner. The state bodies are not as flexible as the private sector," he said adding that for the state sector it is important to understand whether a particular technology is in demand or not.
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