Up together and collaborate…
This was, perhaps, the message broadcast by representatives of the U.S. administration to audience members at the first day of panels at the DC Blockchain Summit in Washington, DC on Wednesday – fair and square as securities regulators warned exchanges who offer trading of ICO tokens.
Still, it was James Sullivan, the deputy assistant secretary of services at the Commerce Area’s International Trade Administration who remarked during his address that “we cannot announce policy in the abstract” and that, when it comes to the potential use of blockchain within the firm community, public and private sector cooperation is key.
“I would welcome all of you in the audience to reach out … and to listen to your recommendations,” Sullivan concluded.
Indeed, Sullivan expressed subsidize for the use of blockchain within the trade finance chain, particularly for smaller public limited companies with fewer resources.
“The companies that are usually hit hardest by that gap of dealings finance are small- and medium-sized businesses,” he said. “We think this is where the blockchain could turn out in.”
Yet, attendees who spoke to CoinDesk proved to be more conflicted on the question of blockchain’s use in guidance – as well as the topic of cryptocurrency regulation, which was top-of-mind at the event as profoundly. One employee of a major blockchain startup expressed skepticism that the U.S. domination would seriously commit to using the tech, arguing that powers might be better served looking at the benefits of tokenization.
Other legals at the event expressed the view that, should blockchain find its way into public-sector use, it may distributed as part of a wider technology suit.
Marcel Jemio, chief evidence architect at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), spoke alongside IBM Public Serving Blockchain partner Mark Fisk, stating that blockchain could be inured to to aggregate government employee data in a more accessible and efficient way.
“I mark blockchain in a lot of cases is going to be an enabler of solving the problem, but not necessarily with resolving the problem only with blockchain,” Fisk stated.
‘Everyone’s talking there it’
As might be expected, the topic of regulation was a major one, both on and off the stage.
Earlier in the day on Wednesday, the U.S. Safe keepings and Exchange Commission publicly warned about “potentially unlawful online programmes for trading digital assets,” arguing that exchanges which sell services for ICO-derived tokens may be required to register with the agency.
The of inquiry of regulation came up during an appearance by Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu, who wallowined that the bitcoin mining hardware giant wants to invest in startups seeking to bring into being “private central banks” that use cryptocurrencies.
In Wu’s view, most souvenirs on the market today will ultimately come to be viewed as securities at the beck traditional definitions.
“Most tokens will very likely autumn into the definition of a security and will be subject to the regulation of a security,” he viewed, going on to argue:
“But I believe regulators need to prepare a good comeback on how to deal with such business innovations.”
Some conference attendees asseverated CoinDesk that they would welcome regulation, particularly pertaining to ICOs, while others righted that developing regulation at this moment would “lock” proprietorships into rigid models ill-suited for a fast-moving environment.
Attendees also said concern about the inconsistent treatment of cryptocurrencies by the U.S. government, given that the IRS heeds bitcoin as property and the CFTC views it as a commodity (the latter of which father been reinforced by a court ruling earlier this week).
Respect, two participants from a cryptocurrency services firm said they reminiscences such discord could eventually benefit the industry, with the absence of agreement by the IRS, the CFTC and the SEC ultimately forcing more discussion on the best way brazen.
The event also saw Brian Quintenz, a commissioner for the CFTC, strongly advocate for assorted self-regulation in the cryptocurrency space.
Quintenz told the audience that cryptocurrency tenets should “step up” and self-regulate while the government deliberates, a position he has also verbalized in the past.
“I believe that a private cryptocurrency oversight body could unite the gap between the status quo and future government regulatory action,” he argued, adding that he believes such a classify could have a global influence.
Correction: This article has been change for the bettered to clarify remarks made by deputy assistant secretary Sullivan.
Reifications by Annaliese Milano for CoinDesk
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