A new report of British researchers told about the state of affairs in the market of Crypto-Currency and ICO NEWS 2017
London-based research firm Autonomous NEXT has published a new report on the state of affairs in the market of crypto-currencies and primary coin placement (ICO). It, in particular, examines the regulatory and operational challenges that this rapidly gaining popularity project financing model throws to business and investors, reports CoinDesk.
In general, the report examines the situation in six countries - Switzerland, Singapore, Russia, China, Britain and the United States.
It is the first two of these countries that are called in the report by the market leaders in terms of creating an enabling environment for finteh and crypto-currencies. Thus, in Switzerland, where the Financial Services Supervision Service (FINMA) is responsible for business regulation, crypto-cash companies do not require any special permits or licenses, and the digital currencies themselves are seen as assets rather than debt obligations.
A similar pattern is observed in Singapore, where crypto-currencies are considered assets, rather than financial or payment instruments. This is the position held by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which, while insisting on compliance with KYC / AML rules, does not regulate transactions in virtual currencies,
"Switzerland is a very important jurisdiction, because many exchanges and firms come here. In a similar position is Singapore, as it favorably treats launches of tokens and crypto-currency companies, "says Lex Sokolin, director of financial strategy at Autonomous NEXT.
It is noteworthy that this week the Federal Council of Switzerland reported on the steps being taken to develop the legal status of crypto-currencies and rules for the regulation of the Finnish industry in the country. In Singapore, meanwhile, work continues on new legislation, under which a single license for activities for payment service providers can be introduced. In their number, as expected, will include crypto-currency companies.
USA and UK
Other countries, the situation in which the report is studying, turned out to be less friendly with respect to crypto-currencies and ICO. So, although the United States and Great Britain are called countries with a high level of activity on the market, there is a lack of legal certainty.
As in Singapore, the UK has a regulatory sandbox for testing new financial projects, but the Financial Supervisory Authority (FCA) is waiting for the technology of the distributed registry.
With regard to crypto-currencies and tokens, they are considered to be "private money" in the UK, and the organizers of the ICO act within their own interpretation of the law. At the same time, although FCA published an extensive document on the topic of blocking and cryptotenes technology, it is not legally binding for execution. Therefore, according to Autonomous NEXT analysts, in the future the ICO landscape in the UK can change a lot.
In the meantime, the US is described in the report as "alphabet soup from regulators", and this state of affairs significantly complicates the process of releasing tokens. It is also noted that each state has its own laws. The most vivid examples of various approaches to regulation are called New York State with its so-called BitLicense, and the most open to the technology of blockades and crypto-currencies of Delaware.
China and Russia
China has recently rapidly gained the status of one of the most active countries in the field of crypto-currency and block-innovation. The People's Bank of China also established an institute for the study of digital currencies, which, among other things, assists various start-ups and projects. Tokens in China are considered "non-monetary digital assets".
As noted in the report, the Chinese authorities also plan to create a finteh sandbox, but ICO in this country is almost not regulated. More than 2 million people of China took part in different crowdsails, while the NBK is studying the possibilities of regulating this sector, paying attention to the high risks of this sector and the behavior of "non-professional investors".
"We have heard that ICO advertising through social networks is much more prevalent here than in the countries of the West. There is another investment climate, not the same as in the US, where people perceive this industry as the Wild West, "added Sokolin.
At the same time, researchers note that in Russia the authorities in the past were not very friendly with respect to crypto-currencies, but in the future they can be classified as legal financial instruments. If the government recognizes crypto-currencies to some extent officially, they will be subject to regulation in the KYC / AML area, transactions are likely to be monitored, and the introduction of a tax regime is not ruled out.