The Banking Regulatory Commission of China (CBRC) has advocated the introduction of licensing for cryptocurrency activities. The agency’s statement says that any capital transactions related to the blockchain, cryptocurrencies, derivatives, and ICO should be considered as financial services.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
- In May, the Chinese government set the task of becoming a leader in the field of implementing blockchain into the real economy. The development of distributed registry technology was first supported by the country’s leader Xi Jinping. To do this, there are reasons: in 2016, China’s GDP growth fell to 7%, the lowest since 1990. At the same time, the sphere of blockchain technologies is rapidly developing. In 2017, China filed more applications for patents in this sector than in other countries combined.
- Licensing should make operations on the cryptocurrency market safer.
“These transactions need to be placed within the framework of appropriate financial regulation, crypto companies must work under the law on the basis of a license,” the document published by the regulator says.
The document proposes to introduce licenses not only for ICO projects and crypto-trading platforms but also for all services related to transactions in the blockchain. It also explains the rules for the regulation of the cryptosphere in different countries.
The document states that the opinion on licensing belongs to the authors of the study, and not to the regulator itself. Nevertheless, in this document, the CBRC advocated the licensing rules adopted in the United States for the first time.
