Human capabilities function within a strange area. You see, even though our wide ranging skill-set can be used to perform a host of positive activities, it can also end up becoming the very basis for many hugely negative undertakings. The latter piece of reality gets even dicier when you realize that, like positives, the said negatives too can go ahead and make a difference across a broader horizon. To mitigate the risk of such a grave possibility, we have zeroed in upon the idea of ceaseless regulation. Now, while the idea has been commended throughout the globe, its enforcement to this day remains as tricky as before, although for different reasons. When regulatory bodies first arrived on the block, they didn’t expect the companies to instigate such an extensive pushback by skirting around some major regulations altogether. Furthermore, they certainly did not see a tech revolution on the cards, and as you would expect, it caught them off-guard and left the whole regulatory structure in a mess. One of the biggest perpetrators behind this mess was virtual currency. Suddenly, the world happened to be pitted against something that essentially had no place in the established financial system. With regulators unsure about how to govern it, many individuals and groups were able to use it for purposes like fraud, money laundering, and other highly unscrupulous activities. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency might just be in for a massive overhaul now, and the blueprint to make it happen is surprisingly provided by some well-known preachers of the currency.
The world’s largest bitcoin exchange, Binance has come forward with an urgent call to regulate the crypto markets. The suggestion is being viewed as a part of company’s efforts towards fostering a healthier relationship with the regulators worldwide. Binance made a point to mention that it is already working alongside relevant authorities to “achieve the mutual goal of protecting users, while allowing innovation to continue in a responsible manner, ensuring a healthy trajectory forward for the industry”. Interestingly, the company also released a set of 10 fundamental rights for crypto users in a bid to help them through concerns like privacy, liquidity, KYC procedures, and many more.
While it feels like a step in the right direction, crypto experts are finding it hard to understand why there is so much urgency from the companies to govern a currency, which had “independence from government authorities” as a part of its selling pitch. One popular theory here, however, talks strongly to a similar tactic used by many disruptive industries in the past for keeping the competition limited.
“They’re doing what Uber and Lyft did,” said Gil Luria, technology strategist at D.A. Davidson. “Build a business ahead of regulations. When it gets to a certain scale, acknowledge that regulation will be helpful and then help shape it.”
Apart from Binance, popular currency exchange, Ripple also voiced the need for governing the virtual currency.