Throughout the years 2014 and 2015, there has been a lot of focus on regulating popular digital currencies such as Bitcoin. Considering how Bitcoin could pose sort of a threat to economies, it only made sense governments wanted to find out more about how the system works. So far, there is very little negative regulation to speak of. But that situation could be about to change as officials are turning to integrating blockchain technology into the derivatives market next.

Also read: Investing is Bitcoin Is Not About Quick Profits Anymore

Derivatives And Blockchain Technology?

According to a new post on the website of the Office of the Federal Register in the United States, a meeting will be held on January 26 to discuss the possibility of blockchain integration in the derivatives market. This meeting will take place all day, and the Technology Advisory Committee of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will organize this public event.

From what we can gather, the main goal of this meeting will be to come up with ways to use blockchain technology, from a financial perspective. Terms such as swap data standardization, blockchain harmonization, and application of distributed ledger technology to the derivatives market are all on the agenda.

Considering how this meeting will be open the public – although there is limited seating available – it will be interesting to see what will be discussed exactly during this event. Those who are unable to attend the meeting in person can call a toll-free number for a live audio feed. However, doing so will be subject to minor verification, including revealing one’s full name and affiliation.

At this time, it is all but impossible to estimate how this integration will affect the future of blockchain technology and Bitcoin. Considering how the document mentions the a willingness by the CFTC to work with blockchain technology in the near future, this could be seen as positive news for the digital currency ecosystem.

This Is Not A Regulation Attempt

On Reddit, there seems to be a fair bit of confusion regarding this event, as a lot of people feel this is an attempt to regulate blockchain technology. Don’t be mistaken in thinking that is the case, as governments cannot regulate the blockchain and Bitcoin by any means. The most they can do is discourage people from using the technology or currency, but that is as far as it goes.

Any attempt to even regulate blockchain technology will be laughed away immediately, as there is no physical aspect to this technology. This would be the same as regulating the Internet although China is effectively limiting the types of websites citizens can access. However, they can only do so because they control the Internet Service providers. In the blockchain world, there are no third=party providers, making regulation pretty much impossible.

Source: Federal Register

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