Kevin Batteh is currently a partner with Delta Strategy Group , the leading government affairs firm in the derivatives and blockchain industries. He is also an advisor to the Chamber of Digital Commerce , the world’s largest trade association representing the digital asset and blockchain industry.
In this op-ed, Batteh offers a perspective on the recent settlement between Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange Bitfinex and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Businesses may loathe burdensome regulation, but they almost always welcome regulatory certainty, even if they are certain they don’t like the particular regulation. Regulatory certainty is predictable and allows businesses to comply with rules, to plan, and to avoid risks, like the risk of the government deciding to shut down their business.
Many of my clients tell me they would rather know what the rules are, even if they are bad rules, than operate in an uncertain regulatory environment with the threat of a costly enforcement action looming.
Trading in digital currencies or “tokens” – including bitcoin – is becoming more commonplace.
Today, bitcoin, ether and hundreds of other tokens are traded on global exchanges. While we can all be certain that digital currencies are here to stay, regulatory certainty around the exchange trading of digital currencies is lacking in many jurisdictions.
Exchanges play an important function in the blockchain ecosystem because they provide a place for price discovery of digital tokens, which is one of the key components of secure and successful blockchains.
Having regulatory certainty around the exchange trading of digital currency is a prerequisite to further mainstream investment in blockchain technology. Businesses want to know that there are regulated, well-run exchanges for the trading of digital tokens which support the blockchains they use. Latest settlement
Last week, the CFTC took yet another step in providing greater regulatory certainty for participants […]
