Ripple, NASDAQ & ICE invited by a U.S Congressman for ICO regulation discussion

During an interview with Axios, Warren Davidson, the U.S Congressman representing the Ohio State announced that he would be inviting the big players in the cryptocurrency industry to discuss the regulation of Initial Coin Offerings [ICO].

The Congressman has reportedly invited around 32 leaders from the cryptocurrency space and otherwise. The key players invited include NASDAQ, Intercontinental Exchange [ICE], Kraken, Ripple, Harbor, CME Group, Circle, Coin Centre and Union Square Ventures.

The meeting will be held on 25th September 2018 at Capitol Hill. The discussion with the biggest industry players ranging from Venture Capital firms to exchange platforms falls around the same time frame as the SEC’s stance on the proposed Bitcoin ETF.

Moreover, the Congressman’s office has been reportedly sharing information regarding their plans with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission. Rep. David will also be introducing a new bill this year.

During an interview in the month of June, the Congressman stated that ICOs need ‘light touch’ regulation. He also spoke about the importance of categorizing cryptocurrency, quoting the example of the Ethereum controversy [SEC declaring it a commodity and not a security].

According to him, the lack of a regulatory framework for ICOs has made the market risky and unsafe. This could lead to a lot of fraudulent ICOs exploring investors. He believes that if all the ICO companies implement Know Your Customer [KYC] policy and Anti Money Laundering policy then there would be a decrease of scammers in the market.

The Congressman further stated that the cryptocurrencies are favored by criminals because it can be easily transferred and it is distributed, there is no requirement of a central clearing house. In addition, the owner of the cryptocurrency cannot be traced. However, cryptocurrency assets are more traceable when compared to cash.