The ecosystem of crypto currencies and blockchain technologies has grown so much that it has already become a matter of political strategy in different parts of the world. Despite the opinion of many anarchists, government authorities are taking the issue more and more seriously.
Following the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies issued a joint declaration committing themselves – among other things – to studying the possibility of joint regulation on the subject of virtual assets.
The declaration sought to eliminate the legal loopholes that have allowed the development of scams and cybercrimes, and to regulate the trading of crypto assets and – according to some opinions – to establish taxes on these activities.
One of the regulatory initiatives is the support given by the G20 to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a body that informed to the multilateral body they should take a risk-based approach in relation to virtual assets. Likewise, it seems to be a common opinion that virtual assets should not be self regulated.
Crypto Regulations Are Now A Thing Among Presidential Candidates
One politician who has shown a special interest in the topic is Andrew Yang, a presidential candidate for the 2020 elections.
The politician and entrepreneur has stated on his website that America needs an ecosystem where businesspeople feel secure in having a legal environment that embraces crypto-verse without voids or conflicts of competence.
Investment in cryptocurrencies and digital assets has far outpaced our regulatory frameworks in the US. We should let investors, companies, and individuals know what the landscape and treatment will be moving forward to support innovation and development. The blockchain has vast potential.
To achieve this, Yang proposes to develop a general framework for virtual assets, this would pave the way for a massive adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.
Yang is a candidate for the Democratic Party and if he wins the elections, these are some of the promises target to crypto enthusiasts:
- Promote legislation
that provides clarity in the cryptocurrency/digital asset market space by:
- Defining what a token is, and when it is a security (e.g., recognizing “utility tokens”)
- Define which federal agencies have regulatory power over the crypto/digital assets space
- Provide for consumer protections in the space
- Clarify the tax implications of owning, selling, and trading digital assets
- Promote the nationwide adoption of recognition of protections afforded by a series LLC
- Preempt state regulations when possible to create one national framework
- Work with the sponsors of the Token Taxonomy Act and Wyoming legislators to promote the above, largely modeled after their work.