Further Discussions, Further Confusions -Should We Just “Let Other Councils Solve It”?
Article by: Xinhua News
Wang Jiangang
UNODC this, UNDP that — are we giving up, delegates?
YES, ONE WORKING PAPER FAILED to be acknowledged by the Chair(s) UNCTAD today. The highlighted issue was pertaining to the “absence of technicalities, and the absence of actual content” — which, frankly put, should be exceptionally concerning.
The Working Paper sent by China and allies did highlight several core concerns. Echoes of user vulnerability have been addressed via a few offered frameworks. A solution created by the former delegate named Cyber Security Protection on Cryptocurrency Transaction (CRYPTON) claimed to be a solution to ensure transparency and to increase state surveillance. Following suit is the National Crypto Trading License (NCTL) offered by the delegate of USA, which claims to be able to create transparency of customer accounts, increase government monitoring capacity and build a strong cyber infrastructure for cryptocurrency products.
Sure, we can question how these solutions could bridge the technological divide — despite being promoted as “technologically-inclusive” by the Russian Federation. However, perhaps the bigger question is how these solutions could address transnational crime and/or fraudulent activity, including crypto mining.
Numerous people around the world fall into the fraudulent world of crypto mining — where people spend a disturbing deal of cash, energy, and electricity for the small chance of gaining cryptocurrency. The United States and the Russian Federation are the first and third biggest crypto mining sites respectively — putting a myriad of domestic and international citizens at risk.
When asked about how we choose to address issues of crypto mining, dismissive answers were instead given. “Transnational crime should be more of UNODC’s concern,” the delegate of the USA remarked when asked about the efficacy of their solutions when applied internationally. “The impact of crypto mining should be more of UNEP’s and UNDP’s concern,” as said by others.
In spite of that, creating a standardized, cryptocurrency platform should be within the best interest of all delegates — as reaffirmed by the delegate of China in today’s Press Conference.
Robust solutions that do not simply rely on “collaboration with NGOs and international bodies” remain virtually unfound until today.
