Estonian bank LHV — short for Lõhmus, Haavel & Viisemann — has reportedly hired and brought aboard what has been described by news website ERR as a “virtual currency expert” who will use his expertise to help develop products and services for digital currencies like bitcoin.
The expert, Asse Sauga, told Eesti Päevaleht that his first task will be to analyze today’s virtual currencies, of which includes hundreds like bitcoin, litecoin, namecoin, peercoin, and dogecoin.
“If you look at Bitcoin’s software then you will find the root systems of a bank,” Sauga was quoted as saying. He adds that it could very well be possibly for financial services to be built atop the Bitcoin protocol and block chain, acknowledging that companies in the financial sector will be obligated to look into the technology as time progresses.
As pointed out by ERR, Sauga states that the legality of virtual currency use in Estonia falls into existing frameworks, and are subject to VAT.
And while the move on the part of LHV is interesting, it shouldn’t come as a shock or surprise. Financial companies all over the world are hiring virtual currency experts. Most recently, Capital One posted an online job add looking for a candidate with bitcoin know-how, and you’d be silly to think other major companies aren’t doing the same.
We’ve seemingly reached a point in which the financial world no longer considers bitcoin to be an enthusiast’s toy or simply a fad.
They have come to recognize that digital currency is here to stay.
[textmarker color=”C24000″]Source[/textmarker] ERR