Investors are looking for “clear” rules to operate in the United States of America, and in other countries, without future problems.

Asian investors and crypto exchanges are calling for regulatory clarity on cryptocurrencies in the United States. Some of these companies say that the US is leaving blockchain-based companies in the “dark” due to the lack of regulation or explanations about the future of these digital assets in that country.

These companies are commonly located in Singapore, Switzerland or Hong Kong, and some of them have left the US because they do not know what will happen with crypto regulations and they do not want to have problems because of the legal tension that currently is present.

This “tension” that the companies mention probably is based on the current controversy around Libra, the digital currency that the social media giant Facebook plans to launch next year. The problem is that, during the last months and weeks, US lawmakers and different governments around the world have shown themselves against that project.

For instance, the US Financial Services Committee considers that Libra would threaten consumer privacy. Also, the French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire said he was against Libra.

Besides, the US President, Donald Trump, consider that the digital coin must be regulated, whilst German Finance Minister, Olaf Scholz, thinks that Libra should be prevented. Additionally, four important partners left the Libra project some weeks ago, such as MasterCard, eBay, Stripe, Visa, and Paypal.

However, last month, the last one said that it will continue supporting other projects of Facebook and that it will “look forward to dialogue and find ways to work together in the future”.  

Restrictions for American Users

One of the digital asset exchanges that “cut” with US users was Poloniex. Now, it will not allow American customers to trade on its platform.

On the other hand, Binance established “Binance US”, in conjunction with BAM Trading Services, a partner of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Fincen). Binance US is a separate entity from Binance.com, which used to operate in the US.

Edith Yeung, partner of different startups in China, and Rae Deng, founding partner of the Singapore-based VC firm Du Capital, ask US authorities for “clear” regulations on cryptocurrencies.

“We welcome more regulations as a vacuum of the proper regulation last year or the year before turned into vulnerable situations”, Rae Deng said.

Yeung is interested in the development of the American regulatory environment. She calls the industry to keep paying attention to what is happening in the country.

Her interest is maybe because she invests in blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) startups through Proof of Capital, with a portfolio that includes Solana, Oasis Labs, Stellar, Nebulas, Hooked, among other companies of this type.

Deng is backing distributed ledger technology companies and those that operate in the surrounding ecosystem.

Hence, these Asian investors are looking for opportunities to operate and trade with cryptoassets. The truth is that the launching of Libra or other assets could be close and it would be necessary for the U.S. authorities to prepare a complete regulation that does not only protect its citizens but also that establish what is allowed and what is not.

By María Rodríguez

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