The United States government could regulate crypto assets and tokens differently than stocks and traditional assets by altering the existing regulatory framework on securities.
On Dec. 22, CNBC reported that two congressmen — Warren Davidson and Darren Solo — have introduced a bipartisan bill entitled “Token Taxonomy Act,” in an effort to prevent over-regulation in the cryptocurrency space.
"In the early days of the internet, Congress passed legislation that provided certainty and resisted the temptation to over-regulate the market. Our intent is to achieve a similar win for America's economy and for American leadership in this innovative space," said Davidson.
When passed, what sort of impact could the bipartisan Token Taxonomy Act have on the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector?
More clarity, exactly what the industry needs
In a statement, the Blockchain Association — a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit trade association that represents many of the biggest companies in the cryptocurrency industry such as Coinbase, Circle and Digital Currency Group — said that the bill provides a definition to crypto assets and digital tokens that exclude them from being recognized as a security.
Throughout the past two years, many blockchain projects have left the U.S. market to pursue token sales in regions like Switzerland and Singapore, which have lenient and flexible policies regarding initial coin offerings (ICOs).
By providing a clear guideline on the regulatory nature of tokens and digital assets, the bill encourages blockchain projects to remain within the U.S. market and contribute to the growth of the local cryptocurrency and blockchain sector.
The vast majority of token sales and ICO projects — apart from a select few like Telegram that have reportedly conducted a private token sale with the approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — have disallowed investors in the U.S. to participate in token sales due to the ambiguity in existing securities laws.
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