California has become the first American state to launch an official effort to examine how to regulate digital monies.
加州已经成为美国首个启动官方措施研究如何监管数字货币的州。
The effort began when Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed an executive order calling on state agencies to start considering new regulations. The order also requires officials to find safe ways to widely adapt the use of digital currencies – also called cryptocurrencies – across the state.
这项工作始于加州州长加文·纽森最近签署的一项行政命令,要求州机构开始考虑新的法规。该命令还要求官员找到安全的办法,在全州范围内广泛适应数字货币(也被称为加密货币)的使用。
A cryptocurrency is a form of money that does not exist in physical form. Governments and banks do not oversee it. A network of computers records cryptocurrency activity between users. This activity is included in a "ledger," or list, known as the blockchain.
加密货币是一种不以物理方式存在的货币形式。政府和银行不对其进行监管。计算机网络记录用户之间的加密货币活动。此活动包含在被称为区块链的分类账或列表中。
U.S. President Joe Biden ordered similar national action in March. Biden's order directed federal agencies to consider regulatory measures for cryptocurrencies. It also urged the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, to explore whether it should create its own digital currency.
美国总统拜登3月份下令全美国采取类似行动。拜登的命令指示联邦机构考虑对加密货币采取监管措施。它还督促美联储探索是否应该创建自己的数字货币。
California has the largest economy in the United States. Officials see the state as a good candidate for developing cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies.
加州是美国最大的经济体。官员们认为该州是开发加密货币和区块链技术的良好候选者。
Dee Dee Myers is a top economic advisor to Governor Newsom. She told The Associated Press she thinks the technologies can be "an explosive creator" of new companies and jobs in California. She added that since the industry is still developing, it provides "another reason we want to engage early."
迪迪·迈尔斯是州长纽森的高级经济顾问。她对美联社表示,她认为这些技术可以成为加州新公司和工作岗位的爆炸性创造者。她还表示,由于该行业仍在发展,它提供了“我们想要尽早参与的另一个原因。”
Governor Newsom, a member of the Democratic Party, said in a statement that governments often fall behind in technology development. "So we're getting ahead of the curve on this." He added that his order is designed to start a process that aims to help citizens and businesses gain economically from cryptocurrencies.
作为民主党人的纽森州长在一份声明中表示,政府在技术开发方面经常落后。“所有我们要在这方面走在前列。”他还表示,他的命令旨在启动一个进程,帮助市民和企业从加密货币中获得经济利益。
California has a population of about 39 million people. The state's economy is worth more than $3.1 trillion, larger than those of Britain and India. Newsom said the state hopes to "establish a comprehensive, thoughtful, and harmonized regulatory and business environment" for cryptocurrencies.
加州约有3900万人口。该州的经济价值超过3.1万亿美元,其规模超过了英国和印度。纽森表示,该州希望为加密货币“建立一个全面、周到、协调的监管和商业环境。”
The use of cryptocurrencies has sharply increased in recent years. An estimated 16 percent of American adults have invested in, traded, or used cryptocurrencies, the AP reports. The percentage is much higher among younger individuals.
近年来加密货币的使用急剧增加。据美联社报道,估计有16%的美国成年人投资、交易或使用过加密货币。这个比例在年轻人中要高得多。
There is much debate over the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies, even among some of the world's wealthiest people. Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk is a strong supporter of the technology. But billionaire investor Warren Buffet recently said he would not pay even $25 for all of the world's bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency. Each bitcoin is currently valued at about $37,000, but the rate rises and falls greatly.
关于加密货币的合法性存在很多争论,即使在全球一些顶尖富豪当中也是如此。特斯拉和美国太空探索技术公司首席执行官埃隆·马斯克是这项技术的坚定支持者。但亿万富豪投资家沃伦·巴菲特最近表示,他甚至不会掏25美元购买全球所有比特币,这是最流行的加密货币。每个比特币目前的价值约为37000美元,但是价格上涨和下跌幅度很大。
Hilary Allen is a financial regulation expert and professor at American University in Washington, D.C. She told the AP that California's effort can help legitimize the technology and make it more widespread.
希拉里·艾伦是金融监管专家以及华盛顿特区美利坚大学的教授。她对美联社表示,加州的这项措施可以帮助这项技术合法化并使其更加普及。
However, Allen said California's move to expand and regulate cryptocurrencies may not be the best thing for the state and its population. She said one reason for this is that private investors are most likely to benefit from the technology.
然而,艾伦表示,加州扩大和监管数字货币的举措对于该州及其全部人口来说可能不是最好的事情。她说,其中一个原因是私人投资者最有可能从这项技术中受益。
Allen urged state officials to seek simpler technological solutions, rather than turning to technology that, in her words, "is by its very nature complex and inefficient."
艾伦督促州政府官员寻求更简单的技术解决方案,而不是转向她所谓的“本质上是复杂和低效的”技术。