The Chamber of Digital Commerce, together with other three bitcoin technology organizations, has launched a new project to help develop consistent blockchain regulation.
A group of blockchain, bitcoin and digital asset trade companies have announced the launch of the Global Blockchain Forum, an international platform that will help form blockchain policy. The forum is aimed at establishing a flexible regulation that will facilitate innovation in the space.
The members of the forum include the US-based Chamber of Digital Commerce, Association of Crypto-Currency Enterprises and Startups, Singapore (ACCESS), the UK Digital Currency Association (UKDCA) and the Australian Digital Currency & Commerce Association (ADCCA).
The virtual currency and blockchain industry is developing at a rapid pace now. Over the last years, it has attracted over $1 billion in venture capital investment.
The world’s leading financial organizations are beginning to recognize the potential of blockchain. Major banks, such as Barclays, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, believe the technology has a potential to revolutionize the financial industry.
The necessity of regulatory framework is becoming more evident, given the growing number of startups adopting the virtual currency and distributed ledger system.
Speaking on the future of virtual currency, Nicolas Cary, the CEO and co-founder of Blockchain, told CoinTelegraph that regulation is the main factor slowing down further development of the technology.
“It’s hard to regulate the blockchain technology in this sense, it’s not centralized, there’s no overall committees, or the general authority. However, it’s already regulated by its open source nature, and the fact that it’s regulated by mathematics,” he said.
The unified blockchain policies will help money transfer startups to significantly reduce their expenditures. The firms that serve customers in other countries have to pay large sums on compliance. According to the Chamber of Digital Commerce, financial companies spend from$2 million to $5 million in compliance costs annually.
The US regulatory bodies have different stance on digital currency. While the Securities and Exchange Commission treats bitcoin and the technology behind it as a security, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission treats it as a commodity. Meantime, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network views bitcoin as a currency, while the IRS considers it a property.
The Global Blockchain Forum is going to work with international institutions and government agencies on establishing consistent cryptocurrency policy, legislation and regulation. Besides, it is aimed at promoting the collaboration among its members and spreading awareness of the distributed ledger technology.
The members of the forum have already commenced their work on the project. They are now developing standards for real use cases, including identity management. Dubbed d.ID, the initiative is designed to create digital identities for people not tied to such corporations as Facebook or Google.
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