Crypto Coin Sales Get Fresh Regulatory Scrutiny as ECB Weighs In

As reported by Bloomberg (source)

“The ECB is discussing putting “concrete legal restrictions in place” as the hype around digital currencies like bitcoin is “dangerous and deeply dubious,” Nowotny said in an interview with Austrian weekly magazine Trend. It’s unclear what those legal restrictions may be and what powers the ECB has over ICOs. What’s clear though, is that central banks are likely to be skeptical about a technology that was created to bypass them.”

“While China and South Korea went as far as banning the fundraising mechanism, most watchdogs have taken a cautious approach, saying some digital tokens are securities and should be regulated accordingly, without providing an actual framework or list of requirements to define which projects fall in which category”

“Switzerland took that path last week, with its financial regulator saying it’s investigating a number of ICOs; that probably sounded off alarm bells across the crypto community since Zug has become a popular hub for issuing digital coins. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a similar warning back in July.”

How can Deloitte help

The EU Supervisory Agencies have already published a long list of supervisory initiatives in relation to new technologies, fintech, shadow banking, outsourcing and lately taking a stand on crypto-currency.

Ask Deloitte for a consultation or a workshop that will help you define further your business and regulatory strategy in relation to new technologies.