Clean crypto: how much application is too much?
Many blockchain companies now believe regulation is inevitable, but there is growing debate over where to draw the line between protecting users and strangling the lifeblood of the industry – or forcing it to leave the United States.
“Whether we like it or not, regulation is coming,” Sheila Warren of the Crypto Council for Innovation told me in an interview ahead of the recent Collision conference in Toronto, Canada.
The CEO of the industry lobby group for blockchain technology explains that rather than trying to stop the inevitable, many companies are now focusing on lobbying for rules that work for them.
Why this change? Every week seems to bring new stories of stablecoin loopholes, hacks and algo failures – from the popular Netflix documentary QuadrigaCX to the dizzying world of crypto transaction mixers and the steps law enforcement used to track two Americans accused of selling fraudulent NFTs – increased regulation is starting to look like a better idea. And not just for corporations but also for lawmakers worried about getting re-elected. People seem to love hearing about crypto scams and losing money…as long as it's not theirs.
The crypto industry welcomes regulations to make the roads safer…but not if they stop you driving altogether .
Even though regulation is inevitable, the question of how and what to regulate is still controversial. Specifically, what kind of regulation and enforcement will actually help keep the industry fair and safe for participants without killing off the unique and revolutionary aspects of blockchain, or turning it into another version of finance? traditional?
Does the regulation mean clarifying the 38 different considerations for the four factors that define a U.S. title? How about defining who owns what rights to NFTs? Or maybe it just means following Wyoming's lead and regulating DAOs?
walk the lineA week later, at Collision itself - a 35,000-person tech who's who in Ontario - I drop into a chair in the dark area in front of the "crypto scene" for a chat with Ripple's CEO , Brad Garlinghouse, on how to regulate cryptocurrencies.
Ironically, a hundred branded seat covers emblazoned with an eye-catching white-on-black Crypto.com logo stare me in the face, despite the fact that Crypto.com is not registered to operate as a crypto asset trading platform. trading in Ontario.
According to the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) Staff Opinion on Crypto Ads, Crypto.com's siege mark is legal. It avoids statements that could be considered unfair, misleading or insufficiently informative about the risks to the consumer. Most of the conference attendees – a global audience of tech entrepreneurs and CEOs – already knew what “Crypto.com” stood for. Matt Damon could have a week off.
Advertising is an example of how regulators have their work cut out for them to strike the delicate balance between deterring malicious actors and fostering innovation. For example, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has a mandate to protect consumers while encouraging new businesses and competitive capital markets.
As part of the OSC's mandate, it previously released a report on the suspicious death of QuadrigaCX CEO Gerald Cotten and how what was once Canada's largest crypto exchange lost millions of customers. He also launched the world's largest crypto exchange by volume,...
Many blockchain companies now believe regulation is inevitable, but there is growing debate over where to draw the line between protecting users and strangling the lifeblood of the industry – or forcing it to leave the United States.
“Whether we like it or not, regulation is coming,” Sheila Warren of the Crypto Council for Innovation told me in an interview ahead of the recent Collision conference in Toronto, Canada.
The CEO of the industry lobby group for blockchain technology explains that rather than trying to stop the inevitable, many companies are now focusing on lobbying for rules that work for them.
Why this change? Every week seems to bring new stories of stablecoin loopholes, hacks and algo failures – from the popular Netflix documentary QuadrigaCX to the dizzying world of crypto transaction mixers and the steps law enforcement used to track two Americans accused of selling fraudulent NFTs – increased regulation is starting to look like a better idea. And not just for corporations but also for lawmakers worried about getting re-elected. People seem to love hearing about crypto scams and losing money…as long as it's not theirs.
The crypto industry welcomes regulations to make the roads safer…but not if they stop you driving altogether .
Even though regulation is inevitable, the question of how and what to regulate is still controversial. Specifically, what kind of regulation and enforcement will actually help keep the industry fair and safe for participants without killing off the unique and revolutionary aspects of blockchain, or turning it into another version of finance? traditional?
Does the regulation mean clarifying the 38 different considerations for the four factors that define a U.S. title? How about defining who owns what rights to NFTs? Or maybe it just means following Wyoming's lead and regulating DAOs?
walk the lineA week later, at Collision itself - a 35,000-person tech who's who in Ontario - I drop into a chair in the dark area in front of the "crypto scene" for a chat with Ripple's CEO , Brad Garlinghouse, on how to regulate cryptocurrencies.
Ironically, a hundred branded seat covers emblazoned with an eye-catching white-on-black Crypto.com logo stare me in the face, despite the fact that Crypto.com is not registered to operate as a crypto asset trading platform. trading in Ontario.
According to the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) Staff Opinion on Crypto Ads, Crypto.com's siege mark is legal. It avoids statements that could be considered unfair, misleading or insufficiently informative about the risks to the consumer. Most of the conference attendees – a global audience of tech entrepreneurs and CEOs – already knew what “Crypto.com” stood for. Matt Damon could have a week off.
Advertising is an example of how regulators have their work cut out for them to strike the delicate balance between deterring malicious actors and fostering innovation. For example, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has a mandate to protect consumers while encouraging new businesses and competitive capital markets.
As part of the OSC's mandate, it previously released a report on the suspicious death of QuadrigaCX CEO Gerald Cotten and how what was once Canada's largest crypto exchange lost millions of customers. He also launched the world's largest crypto exchange by volume,...
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