US Congressman Says ICO Market Needs 'Light Touch' Regulation to Provide Certainty
22 Juin 2018 - 11:51AM
ADVFN Crypto NewsWire
U.S. Representative Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) said the
initial coin offering (ICO) market needs “light touch”
regulation on CNBC's Squawk Box today, June 21.
When asked about cryptocurrency regulation, Davidson argued that
the “big thing” the market needs is a “light touch regulatory
framework” which, according to the congressman, would provide more
certainty.
Davidson stressed the necessity of defining the status
of cryptocurrencies, pointing out the recent announcement of the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the
top altcoin Ethereum (ETH) will be considered a commodity rather than a security. He
added that the government still “[has not] put together” a coherent
regulatory framework, claiming that there’s still “arbitrage going
on.”
“You don’t really know when somebody does an ICO,
whether they are really launching this great distributed ledger
product that is going to be a security or if it looks a little
different, like [Ethereum] and [Bitcoin] determined to be essentially
commodities.”
Davidson stated that a lightweight regulatory
framework could provide more clarity to investors without
encumbering projects with undue regulations. He said that a clear
regulatory framework would save companies from the bureaucratic
difficulties of navigating myriad different court decisions at
varying levels.
The congressman further explained that the lack of
regulatory certainty made the ICO market risky and potentially
unsafe, as fraudulent ICO projects could take advantage of
investors. He advocated for the proper application of
know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering provisions to “make sure we
protect ourselves.”
When asked why crypto is the “currency of choice” for
people engaged in illicit activities, Davidson responded:
“I’m not sure that it would be considered the currency
of choice, but it is easy to transmit through time and space, and
its distributed, you don’t need a central clearing house… but if
you look at how cases like Mt. Gox have been solved, there
are ways to trace who is the beneficial owner...”
Davidson said that crypto asset flows are “more
trackable than cash,” and “certainly more open than hawala network, and both those things are still
legal.”
Yesterday, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman claimed that ICOs pose “serious
risks” for retail investors and highlighted that the ICO processes
have “almost no oversight.” from the SEC in comparison with initial
public offerings (IPOs).
On June 19, CBOE Global Markets President Chris
Concannon claimed that the ICO market could soon face a two-fold
regulatory “reckoning,” should the SEC classify ICOs as
unregistered securities.
Ripple (COIN:XRPEUR)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Mai 2024 à Juin 2024
Ripple (COIN:XRPEUR)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Juin 2023 à Juin 2024