We have seen a fair bit of speculation regarding the potential regulation of cryptocurrency ICOs. So far, it is unclear which countries may take a vested interested in pursuing this angle. We do know Australia will probably not be on this list anytime soon. In fact, the country’s top securities regulator feels there is no need for the regulation of ICOs right now. An interesting decision, to say the least.
If Greg Medcraft is to be believed, Australia will not regulate cryptocurrency ICOs anytime soon.That is somewhat remarkable, considering these projects raise millions of dollars in an unregulated manner. However, it appears the Australian Securities and Investments Commissions sees no bones in this. According to them, initial coin offerings are not a clear use case of illicit cryptocurrency usage. That is certainly true, although the team raising millions of dollars may warrant some investigation.
Australian Regulators Will Leave ICOs Alone, for now
Then again, quite a few banks around the world are looking into issuing their own digital currency. This is more important to them than worrying about a handful of cryptocurrency ICOs, by the look of things. It is unclear if this means other countries around the world feel the same way about this, though. Billions of dollars have been raised by these ICOs in the past few months alone. Yet no one has verified these teams, projects, or where the money ends up.
Even though the Australian regulators are tracking cryptocurrency ICOs as we speak, there is no reason for concern just yet. Additionally, there are jurisdictional limitations to take into account. If the team is not based in Australia, there is very little law enforcement can do about this situation, that much is evident. Rest assured all of these events are closely scrutinized. Even the slightest hint of an issue will eventually lead to further investigations.
Moreover, the concept of regulation cryptocurrency ICOs is not all that easy to pursue either. There is no framework for how this regulation should occur in the first place. Since most projects don’t actively trade securities, there is very little regulators can effectively do to thwart these attempts. That does not mean we won’t see some form of regulation in a few years from now, though. For now, Australia will not take any action regarding cryptocurrency ICOs.
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