In Serbia, according to the latest estimates, about 200,000 people own some cryptocurrency.
Interest in owning cryptocurrency in our country has grown after it was recognized in Serbian legislation.
Namely, according to the Law on Digital Assets, which entered into force on June 29 this year, virtual currencies are recognized as virtual assets, ie as a digital record of value that can be digitally bought, sold, exchanged or transferred.
Marko Zivkovic, marketing director at the ECD cryptocurrency exchange, told Tanjug that the law puts Serbia on the map of countries that recognize cryptocurrency as a thing, and not only in the future, but also in the present.
“Some recent estimates say that about 200,000 people in Serbia own some cryptocurrency. As a cryptocurrency exchange, we notice that this market is growing, and every month this year we have had a serious growth in the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies. The market in Serbia is definitely growing and we are not lagging behind some developed world markets,” said Zivkovic.
As he explained, the cryptocurrency exchange ECD currently has a temporary permit so that people can buy and sell cryptocurrencies through it, and wait for the official permission of the National Bank of Serbia so that they can offer other businesses to sell their services and products through cryptocurrency.
“The ECD cryptocurrency exchange is in the process of obtaining that permit from the NBS, and I hope that we will obtain a permit in the first months of next year,” said Zivkovic.
From that moment, as he says, when the first crypto exchange receives a license, it will be possible to buy any product or pay for a service for cryptocurrency.
“Just as you come to the POS terminal with a credit card and pay, in the same way, cryptocurrency will be able to pay for computer equipment, travel or any other service. In practice, it looks like you pay with your cryptocurrency, in transactions it seems that dinars come to the trader’s account,” explained Zivkovic.
Speaking generally about the value of cryptocurrencies, Zivkovic stated that their prices, especially bitcoin as the oldest and most famous cryptocurrencies, vary significantly.
He adds that at the beginning of the year, the value of bitcoin was 30,000 dollars, a month ago it reached a record and was around 68,000 dollars, and today it is around 48,000 dollars.
“That market is prone to changes, prices vary, so no one can give some precise projections on the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, because someone who could do that would be a millionaire,” said Zivkovic.
If, as he says, one looks at the long-term trend of ten years, how current cryptocurrencies are, there is a constant and long-term growth of their value.
A record jump during the pandemic
Economist Malisa Djukic agrees that the growth trend of the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is indisputable, and adds that if you look at all cryptocurrencies that are traded, there is a significant jump in value in the last two to three years.
“There are unequivocal conclusions that the interest of the public, both small and large, and investors, citizens, in many countries is growing for the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, ie that there are large-scale transactions, as well as the value of these transactions,” said Djukic.
He reminds that bitcoin, as one of the most famous cryptocurrencies, recorded a record jump during the pandemic, but he notes that the oscillations in the value of cryptocurrencies are extremely large.
“In a very short period of time, a cryptocurrency can record a jump in value with 20, 30, 40 and 50 percent, and also in a few days it can record a drop in value to an incredible 80 percent,” Djukic points out.
He adds that cryptocurrency trading can generate potentially large capital gains, but on the other hand it also generates potentially large losses.
When it comes to trading cryptocurrencies in Serbia, the general impression, adds Djukic, is that interest in cryptocurrencies is growing, and that the adoption of laws that treat cryptocurrencies as assets has contributed to that.
Djukić explains that this created a legal basis for their recording to be found in the balance sheets of companies and institutions, or as capital gain or loss as an integral part of the income statement, but also to be taxed, BiF reports.
