Analysts say the phenomenon of digital currencies will not go away quickly despite a week full of events, including a piracy that led to the theft of 530 million dollars and a ban on Facebook and impose controls even in Russia, in addition to large fluctuations in exchange rates.
"The currency has collapsed several times, but it has always recovered," said Stephen Aeneis, Asia Pacific Affairs Officer for the Asia-Pacific Asia Pacific, told Agence France-Presse.
Pirates have stolen $ 530 million of virtual currency from the Quinn Chuck branch of the exchange, leading to price collapses and showing how fragile and volatile these currencies are.
The January 26 hacking operation appears to be the biggest theft of digital currencies so far, surpassing the $ 480 million stolen in 2014 from another Japanese default bank, MTGOX.
Following the theft of MTGOX, the Japanese government imposed a formal license on banking offices. Finance Minister Taro Aso, after the Queen Chuck piracy, acknowledged this week that the government should "tighten its control."
"Quinn Chuck" did not "store important things apart, I think they lack the slightest sense of knowledge or logic," he said.
Authorities have imposed censorship in South Korea, China and even Russia, where a bill was prepared last week to control the production of digital currency.
Inez says such oversight was long overdue. The current framework is "very lenient given the fragility of investors as a result of market volatility and cybercrime."
"In general, the framework of controls in Asia was very bad and he set attractive targets at the disposal of criminals," he said.
- "Essentially important" -
The imposition of controls on dealing in digital currencies was among the topics raised among the elites participating in the World Economic Forum in Davos, where British Finance Minister Philip Hammond urged governments to exercise "caution".
"We have to review the way we organize this environment before the number of eligible entanglements becomes so significant that it becomes fundamentally important in terms of the world economy," Hammond said in an interview with Bloomberg television.
Then the Internet giant Facebook intervened and banned all digital currency advertisements in an effort to counter fraudulent attempts.
All these factors have affected the price of the most popular default currency, which has recently risen to about $ 20,000 before falling back to less than half that value with large daily fluctuations in the exchange rate.
But despite the negative publicity and increasing interest from the watchdogs, the enthusiasm for these currencies has not declined. "There is growing interest after the disclosure of the piracy of Queen Chuck," Japan's digital banking bureau, Pete Flyer, told AFP.
"Many people are interested in digital currencies, and our platform has seen an increase in the number of new applications," says Ben Flyer financial officer Midori Kanimatsu.
Inies said that digital currencies "have the ability to resist," pointing out that he expected a decline in the price to about $ 6,000 "before the market returns to stability."
"Given the recent exchange patterns, I expect the next price to range between 10,000 and 15,000 as traditional traders enter markets ... and volatility declines," he said.
- "More Pick" -
Traders say there is no way to intercept technology behind virtual currencies and that even if some of these currencies remain, others will be replaced.
"There is a huge amount of new ideas," says lawyer Ken Kauai, an expert on financial controls and technology behind France's digital currency. "Piracy is taking place and people who choose this technology should be aware of the risks associated with it ... I expect dealers to become more pick- Banking ".
He suggested banks and e-commerce companies could use the more stable digital currency among them, while other currencies would be traded as alternative assets.
Investors are likely to be forced into a series of checks, including checking customers' identity or imposing an external digital audit to protect them from any security breaches similar to those used during the piracy of Queen Chuck.
Digital currency transactions are also likely to be scrutinized by tax authorities, which could lead to a decline in investment, especially if high fees are levied, analysts said.
