It took only one word to send shivers through the crypto community: regulation. A libertarian, anti-establishment set of beliefs is one of the primary drivers of blockchain success and conceding to regulatory bodies and trying to fit into the existing financial framework appears to go against these beliefs. Regardless, it is becoming increasingly evident that the blockchain needs to assimilate to the traditional model of doing business if they are going to be successful. The blockchain technology has enabled borderless exchange of value through peer-to-peer transfers, as well as innovative ways to raise capital or invest in promising projects, but the flip side of the coin is also evident using cryptocurrency for illicit activities, and by those taking advantage of uneducated investors through scam ICOs. Regulation, once viewed as a nefarious and anti-crypto practice, is slowly becoming less objectionable by the crypto community and we are even hopeful that it will become the norm soon. So, why are we afraid of regulation? What does “regulation” even mean in the context of cryptocurrency?
When “regulation” is mentioned in the context of cryptocurrency, it is likely in reference to two main concepts: Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, and the regulations surrounding the issuance and trading of securities. Regulations are created for a reason. In the case of securities, the intent of regulations is to protect investors and make sure that funds are being used for their intended, legal purposes.
Will the Proposed E.U. Law Ban Crypto?
Lawmakers of the European Union recently voted in support of new laws which aim to strip crypto traders of their anonymity across Europe. With a 93 to 14 vote – and 14 recorded absentees, members of the European Union’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) backed the new amendments to the Transfer of Funds Regulations.
While the anonymous nature of the cryptocurrency space has served as an attractive feature to many of its users, it – alongside the volatility of the tokens – is a source of concern to world governments. Some countries have outrightly banned cryptocurrency use; however, others have resorted to regulations, some stricter than others.
During the plenary session, members of the European Union Parliament stated concerns about the probability of the digital asset’s high volatility exerting a negative effect on the current financial stability and its anonymity which aids criminal activities.
The new regulations would require crypto exchanges to collect and submit information about the parties involved in every cryptocurrency transaction. “That would make it easier to identify and report suspicious transactions, freeze digital assets, and discourage high-risk transactions” Ernest Urtasu, a Spanish Green Lawmaker, said in favor of the bill.
The proposed amendments would mandate the recording of transactions by “un-hosted wallets” with appropriate authorities being notified of any transaction involving greater than €1000.
Will these regulations ban crypto? No, at least not now. However, these regulations would make significant changes to the crypto marketplace. Are those changes a positive, a negative or of no impact? Only time will tell. Let’s now examine the pros and cons of regulating cryptocurrency and other crypto assets.
KYC and AML
KYC and AML regulations were created to verify the identity of customers and assess the risks of them using a business relationship to facilitate money laundering or other illegal activities. KYC and AML regulations are typically mandatory for all banks and financial institutions, though this varies country-to-country. Even as late as 2018, most crypto companies and exchanges made minimal efforts to establish the real-world identity of their customers. That practice has rapidly changed as crypto companies are realizing a need to follow KYC and AML practices to avoid potential regulatory crackdowns. The KYC procedure is usually quite simple: it involves the collection of basic personal information such as name, address, SSN, etc. This info is also checked against lists of known parties involved in criminal activity or otherwise at a high risk for money laundering in compliance with AML regulations. AML procedures also involves keeping track of each client’s transactional behavior and determining if it is indicative of money laundering behaviors.
Securities Regulations
When people discuss regulation regarding the blockchain, they are most likely referencing securities regulations. What is or is not a security is widely debated. In the United States, the Howey Test is the main tool used to make this determination. To quickly summarize: under the Howey Test, a security is an investment of money in a common enterprise with the expectation of profits derived solely from the efforts of a third party. While this test must be applied on a case-by-case basis to each digital asset, SEC chairman Jay Clayton famously stated, “I believe every ICO I’ve seen is a security.” Lately, to remain on the right side of US law, blockchain companies holding ICOs either avoid the US entirely, or adhere to US securities regulations. The offerings made under these regulations are commonly called security token offerings (STOs).
In the United States, securities must either be registered through an S-1 filing (the filing used when companies are conducting an IPO), or they must be issued through one of the several exemptions. Issuing securities under an exemption is a more expensive and difficult process than selling tokens through an unregulated ICO. To make use of an exemption, the issuer needs to file a form with the SEC. For the most used exemptions (Reg D and Reg S), the SEC does not actually go through a review period of the issuance. The issuer is, in some cases, even permitted to begin the securities issuance prior to the filing of the form. The exemption process is not a gatekeeping method for the SEC to determine which issuances are good investments. Instead, it serves as a way for the SEC to remain informed on all private issuances while ensuring that the proper procedures are followed.
The primary effect of the transition from the ICO model to STOs is that the pool of investors permitted to invest in an STO is much smaller. In the US, most private securities are Reg D issuances, which are typically restricted to “accredited investors.” An accredited investor is someone who either has a net worth exceeding $1MM, or an ongoing annual income of $200,000 or more ($300,000 including spousal income). There is much debate whether restricting private investment based on economic class produces the desired effect of protecting investors. This will be covered in a bit more in-depth later.
Exempt securities also typically have restrictions surrounding their ability to be resold. In the past, when the SEC was not paying much attention to crypto, ICOs were held, then tokens were listed and sold on crypto exchanges almost immediately. Now, with most tokens being classified as securities, they must be issued through the appropriate exemption, and are subject to resale limitations. For instance, securities issued through Reg D are typically unable to be resold for a year. When they have passed that holding period, the issuer must make certain information publicly available for their securities to be eligible for resale.
Pros:
Investor Protection
The regulation of security token issuances, or any issuances at all, has its benefits. The SEC may be slow to adapt but they don’t create rules without reason. In the case of security issuance regulations, the reason is investor protection. The accreditation standard does provide some level of protection for the unsophisticated investor. Placing limitations on who can invest in an unregistered securities offering significantly thins out the potential investor pool, which causes issues for legitimate projects, but also makes raising money harder and less enticing for bad or outright fraudulent companies. The ICO craze that marked the end of 2017 showed why there are investor protection laws in the first place. ICOs operated outside of securities laws, and investors were able to throw money at any project with a catchy pitch or decent whitepaper. Unfortunately, many of these companies were all pitch and no plan or product. Many of these “investments” are already worthless and their investors have been left in the dust with no recourse for the deception they endured. If ICOs had been subject to greater regulatory scrutiny, there would have been far fewer outright fraudulent ICOs, as the potential reward would be lesser, and the penalties far more apparent. The crackdown on crypto and the transition towards a more regulated blockchain ecosystem has been galvanized by the presence of rampant fraud within the industry.
Industry-Wide Legitimacy
Crypto has often been called the “wild west.” While that may be an unfair characterization, the industry is far riskier than the traditional capital markets. This does create a faster moving, more accessible market, both for investors and entrepreneurs, but the risks involved made the largest players — institutional investors — unwilling to venture into the market. A common hope among crypto investors is that once institutional investors are comfortable investing in crypto, demand will skyrocket, and prices will increase. Institutions entering the market will legitimize cryptocurrency and send the message that the crypto asset class is here to stay.
Despite the wary attitude the crypto community has towards regulators, institutions view increased regulation as a positive and necessary step before they can begin making crypto investments in earnest. Financial risk is amplified when dealing with other people’s money. Individuals can decide for themselves whether the risks of loss associated with crypto are worth the potential upside; however, institutions face not only the risk of financial loss, but also the risk of further repercussions due to the misapplication of fiduciary responsibility, including financial penalties and reputational damage. As it stands, the risk of institutional crypto investment outweighs the reward. Increased regulation will decrease blockchain investment risk and increase institutional investment.
Higher-Quality Issuances
Increased regulation will increase the overall quality of token issuances. Requiring issuers to adhere to securities laws raises the barrier to entry in the token fundraising market and places token issuances under a higher level of scrutiny. A more difficult and highly scrutinized token issuance process will discourage fraudulent or poorly thought-out projects from holding an ICO, resulting in security token issuances being higher quality than previous ICOs.
Cons:
Exclusion of Valuable Projects
Although a higher barrier to entry increases the overall quality of projects within the crypto space, it also screens out high potential projects due to financial and regulatory strain placed on managing compliant issuance on smaller, capital-starved companies. Cryptocurrency and ICOs grew quickly in popularity in a large part because they offered investors the opportunity to invest in projects much sooner than is possible with existing securities laws and fundraising constructs. On the other side of the coin, early-stage companies can quickly access capital and easily help finance the development of their products through the ICO model. The ICO model was popular due to its simplicity. Companies with great ideas or products could easily raise funding without having to spend time and money determining how to structure an offering and what regulations they had to follow.
Investor Exclusivity
The classification of tokens as private securities for issuers pursuing Reg D or Reg S exemptions greatly reduces the potential investor pool by restricting those who can invest based on the accreditation standard. Issuers are permitted by the SEC to sell to non-accredited investors outside the US, but the issuers must comply with each investor’s local regulations, some of which include their own accreditation rules. Accredited investors make up a small fraction of all investors in the US and excluding non-accredited investors from investing in private issuances limits the issuer’s ability to raise capital while denying “unsophisticated” investors the opportunity to invest in early stage, high-potential projects. The accreditation standard was created to protect less financially savvy individuals from being able to invest in private ventures with a limit amount of information. The concept is noble: protect the unsophisticated from unscrupulous companies. The execution of accreditation standards; however, is a bit ham-fisted. Using net worth or income as a proxy for investor sophistication is inaccurate at best. Including tests of financial acumen as a means by which investors can attain accreditation status would help close the gap between wealth and knowledge. Accredited investor limitations potentially increase wealth inequality by denying less-wealthy investors the opportunity to invest in the traditionally high-performing private equity sector.
Poor User Experience
This “con” is related to the experience users face when attempting to purchase or trade tokens. While not nearly as important as the other considerations, which affect the entire fundraising ecosystem for private companies, it does impact the ease of investment. Early on, the token investing experience was relatively simple: users would simply create an account using their email to access the token market. Customer identification procedures have slowly ramped up from there, with exchanges and ICO issuances requiring increasingly more identifying documents and information to permit entry onto their platform. Customer identification procedures are implemented as part of KYC/AML — a program designed to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. Obviously, most users do not engage in these activities, and so to them these procedures are somewhat of an inconvenience, but these programs are in place to reduce criminal activity, so perhaps a little additional paperwork is a small price to pay.
The Verdict:
Despite the initial fear of regulation within the blockchain ecosystem, more regulation will most likely benefit the crypto community, at least in the short-term. However, the pigeonholing of crypto to existing securities regulations preserves the status quo and diminishes the disruptive and revolutionary promise that crypto once held. Perhaps that was to be expected: it was always unlikely that the emergence of crypto would immediately spur regulators to change regulations to accommodate a new asset class. Changes in regulations are rarely immediate, and while current rules are not tailor made to crypto, their application, though somewhat stifling, is not by any means a death sentence for the development of blockchain technology. Stricter regulation will have its immediate downsides: it will freeze out some valuable projects that would have found funding through the unregulated ICO model, and it will again exclude less-wealthy investors from investing in early-stage ventures through the application of accreditation requirements. Cryptocurrency and the ICO model, while exciting, has done more harm than good for the average investor, and regulation in the near term should be welcomed, as it helps protect investors from fraud and will make institutions more willing to invest, increasing the overall health of the crypto economy. Over time the hope is that rules will be rewritten to better fit crypto and the token model, but as of now, the imperfect application of existing regulation is better than no regulation at all.
Originally published via this site
