Mistertango, a cryptocurrency payment app regulated by Lithuania's central bank, surveyed 24 exchanges across Europe, Asia, South America, and Oceania. The exchanges reported combined daily trading vo
Mistertango, a cryptocurrency payment app regulated by Lithuania's central bank, surveyed 24 exchanges across Europe, Asia, South America, and Oceania. The exchanges reported combined daily trading volumes exceeding $100 million. Eighty-eight percent of respondents said they want regulation.
"The industry is crying out for regulation and the response from partners has shown this," said Gabrielius Bilkštys, business manager at Mistertango. "Uncertainty is the biggest fear, and regulation is critical to provide the stability we need. Unfortunately, there is no regulatory consensus – worldwide or otherwise. For cryptocurrencies to move towards the scale and ubiquity possessed by fiat currency, it needs cohesive, considered, and comprehensive regulation. Thus, regulation will be a catalyst, not an inhibitor to the crypto market's development."
The survey examined views on regulation, anonymity, and market maturation. Forty percent of exchanges said banks reducing barriers to funding crypto activities would boost acceptance. Fifty-five percent supported subjecting cryptocurrency users to Know-Your-Customer and Anti-Money Laundering checks, matching standards used by traditional financial institutions.
The results come amid ongoing debate over how governments should treat cryptocurrency. In June, CryptoUK, an industry self-regulatory body, told the U.K. Treasury Select Committee the government risks missing out "on the biggest technology since the internet" if it keeps crypto outside traditional financial oversight.
Putin has said cryptocurrencies pose "significant risks" and need regulating. Shaktikanta Das, India's former secretary of economic affairs, said regulating cryptocurrencies would present significant challenges. In portions of Asia and the United States, regulators shut down trading, driving price swings.
Not every respondent backed the regulatory path. Seventeen percent named overly strict regulation as the biggest threat to the market. Thirty percent cited a major market crash and asset devaluation as significant dangers.
"It has been widely supposed that crypto companies want to avoid a regulated environment, but this is far from the truth," said Oleksandr Lutskevych, CEO of CEX.IO, a multi-functional crypto exchange. "The industry is all too aware that regulation will lead to the maturity of the market and ensure businesses remain free from suspicion of involvement with illegitimate uses of cryptocurrency."
