The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s Technology Advisory Committee met once again on Wednesday to discuss issues surrounding Cryptocurrency, ICO's, and regulation of Blockchain technology.
As planned, the meeting consisted of influential policy makers and leaders from both the public and private sector.
Topics discussed included issues related to markets and challenges around oversight coupled with banter regarding the regulation of new technologies and the role of regulators as it relates to intervention into the development of said Blockchain technologies.
This was the scary part.
The GOOD news is....
It seems that a government appointed regulator finally seems to have some sense.....
Brian Quintenz was quoted as saying: "The CFTC should not attempt to make value judgments about which new products are worthwhile and which are not – the markets, investors, and consumers need to decide that for themselves."
Fortunately, based on this statement it can be concluded tht the CFTC will focus their enforcement and regulatory energies on issues including but not limited to: registration of ICO's, compliance with KYC and applicable AML laws, as well as Investor protection efforts focused on scams and fraudulent projects.
It's refreshing to think that they will opt to leave some degree of caveat emptor embedded into the dynamic of Cryptocurrency markets by choosing to focus government oversight efforts on legal issues rather than trying to be some sort of Blockchain investment committee. Quintenz urged investors to do their homework. Good Advice.
In other BIG NEWS... The committee approved the creation of two subcommittees, with one devoted to Cryptocurrencies and the other devoted to understanding the broader application of distributed ledgers..more specifically their use in the the financial services space.
It would seem that as planned, Congress will give Financial Industry Regulators carte-blanche to extend their long arm into the realm of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology. As such, I expect investor confidence to improve, and mainstream adoption to follow as a result.
I do believe whole-heartedly that the FUD will get worse before it gets better, however I believe that recent developments related to the CFTC oversight in Cryptocurrency will be viewed as positive by the market as a whole. If nothing else it will be confidence inspiring to no-coiners interested in gaining exposure to the space.
Government intervention in anything is rarely cause for celebration...nevertheless I think this one will help us drive higher. #HODL