The cryptocurrency market is undergoing a shift as the issue of regulation remains at the fore of discussion; yet, according to some traders regulating the industry will be a good thing.
Host of CNBC Africa’s ‘Crypto Trader’, and founder of OnChain Capital, Ran Neu-Ner, said on ‘Fast Money’ yesterday that with regulations put into place it will ‘open the floodgates for new money to come into crypto.’ He added that he encourages a crackdown in the market:
“I hope that they can catch the people [conducting fraudulent activities], because we have to weed out the bad actors. If we have bad actors, it’s going to create a lack of trust in this asset class. If we want to make this a real asset class, with real people, then let’s weed out the bad actors. But the first step is, let’s legislate first; let’s regulate first. So we know what the playing field looks like.”
Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of investment firm BKCM, said regulators will be able to ‘clean cryptocurrency exchanges up a little bit.’
As the market continues to gain in popularity authorities are taking steps to crackdown on the market by stamping out the criminals that are tainting the industry. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is one authority that has been taking decisive steps. Earlier this month, it launched a fake initial coin offering (ICO) website in a bid to educate would-be investors on the risks scam ICOs pose.
The website, HoweyCoins.com, comes with ‘a white paper with a complex yet vague explanation of the investment opportunity, promises of guaranteed returns, and a countdown clock that shows time is quickly running out on the deal of a lifetime,’ according to an announcement.
The aim is to educate investors on the risks they should be aware of before investing their money into a possible scam.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) is also looking closely into the market. This week, it launched an investigation into whether traders have been manipulating the price of bitcoin and other digital currencies as it continues its scrutiny in the market.
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