CME Group CEO calls for ‘more government involvement’ in cryptocurrencies

CME Group CEO Terry Duffy has called for governments to become more involved in the cryptocurrency space.

Duffy, who has been working with the CME since 1981, said that “government involvement” will be key to the success of the digital asset class.

“The key to the success of any currency, whether it’s fiat or crypto, is going to be associated with the government. So I think the government needs to be more involved,” he told Bloomberg in an interview.

His comments come just days after major banking firm JP Morgan announced its own cryptocurrency, JPM Coin, which is the first leap of faith made from a traditional banking institution.

In light of JP Morgan’s spectacular U-turn on cryptocurrencies, Duffy discussed how firms are potentially warming to blockchain technology, the underlying technology of digital assets.

“I’m not quite sure, I was a big believer that we needed to go forward and list Bitcoin in some way, shape, or form, but also understand that this is a brand new asset class that has come into the marketplace, so you need to be able to walk before you can run,” Duffy said, in reference to the CME’s listing of Bitcoin futures in 2017.

He continued: “We put a lot of controls that we don’t have on other products onto Bitcoin, and I think that’s important. I think the bottom line is that until governments really start to accept cryptocurrencies in some way, shape, or form, it’s going to be really hard for the major commercials to come in here and really get gung ho on Bitcoin.”

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