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We at EconoTimes find it necessary to shed some light on ICO regulations as over $8.8 billion has been invested via Initial Coin Offerings since the beginning of 2016. The SEC has already taken action on ICOs, including bringing charges against an individual who fraudulently offered tokens that were claimed to be backed by real estate and diamonds.
The initial coin offering avenue continues to attract a lot of attention. Especially regulators and legislators eye this business model with weary eyes. It now seems France is preparing to introduce a Pact on the Initial Coin Offerings. A very interesting development which seems to regulate ICOs moving forward, yet without banning the concept altogether.
Known as the Pact Act, it will introduce provisions for cryptocurrencies and ICOs alike. Although it remains unclear what to expect exactly, this is considered to be a positive development overall. If all things go according to plan, the Pact Act will be introduced in June of 2018.
Up until this point, there hasn’t been much interest in ICOs by European regulators. This business model is still allowed, albeit far less popular.
Now, it’s French government’s turn, France is looking to become the first nation with an official guideline in this regard. The draft will be presented by the Treasury and Autorite des Marches Financiers. It would be presented to the Council of Ministers. If they approve it, it will move on to the French Parliament in September. A final vote will not occur until late 2018 at the earliest. Implementing these new guidelines would then go into effect in early 2019. No specific dates are announced in this regard.
It will be interesting to see how this impacts the industry. Regulation is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to cryptocurrency. If the proposal is open-minded, a bright future lies ahead. It seems the government is mainly interested in preventing ICO scams from defrauding investors. Projects may still be required to register with the AMF prior to hosting their crowdsale.
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