Blockchain Platform Waves To Form New Self-Regulatory Body For Blockchain and ICO Industry

A new self-regulatory body will soon set standards for the blockchain and ICO industry. Founded by blockchain platform Waves, the new outfit aims to provide an array of services in areas such as legal, tax and accounting, business due diligence, and KYC for emerging companies in the domain.

The organization is being set up as an association, and its members will include the likes of the ICO Governance Foundation, Deloitte CIS, Ethereum Competencies Center, and others. In July 2017, Waves partnered with Deloitte CIS and launched their USD fiat gateway.

Waves has chosen Switzerland as the headquarters for this self-regulatory body.

The Blockchain platform made the announcement in a blog post earlier this week. In it, Waves outlined that the new regulatory body is open to all crypto market leaders including professional services firms, blockchain platforms, ICO platforms, and notable individuals associated with the industry.

Settling the Wild West

The lack of a regulatory body to oversee ICOs has manifested a kind-of free-for-all environment where it is not uncommon to see scammers duping investors and stealing their funds. As a failsafe measure, the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) in the US has proposed enacting stringent regulations to prevent misadventures by fraudsters.

The federal body is preparing the legal ground to initiate action against fraudulent ICOs and those avoiding the securities laws in place.

In the wake of an impending crackdown, it is vital that all bodies linked to the crypto world pull their act together and formulate a strategy to ensure that they meet with any new regulatory framework introduced by the SEC. And this legitimization is precisely where Waves wants to make a difference with its proposed self-regulatory body.

Waves also urges all stakeholders to have a positive outlook toward self-regulation in the sector rather than resisting it. CEO and founder of Waves Platform, Alexander Ivanov, explained his company’s perspective on the subject:

“Regulation is clearly an emerging phenomenon and concern in the crypto space. If certain jurisdictions have not yet announced their intentions, then it’s only a matter of time. Waves has always been clear that regulation — the right kind of regulation — is a good thing for the crypto space. We have also been clear that we want to be a part of that emerging dialogue. We want a seat at the table to be able to shape the future of regulation in the ICO and blockchain space.”

Waves also stated that the association will be blockchain-agnostic and it will collaborate with the ICO Governances Foundation and others to provide best business practices for token sales across platforms.

Overall, the support for the initiative so far has been overwhelming. Waves will spend the next two months registering the association in Switzerland and forming executive bodies to look after the process. The proposed industry standards are expected to be finalized sometime in January 2018.