Blockchain Association forms Market Integrity Working Group
The Blockchain Association is pleased to launch the Market Integrity Working Group to support the development of public policy that ensures the transparency and fairness of cryptocurrency markets. The working group’s co-chairs will be Breanne Madigan, Head of Global Institutional Markets at Ripple, and Rachel Nelson, Senior Director, Associate General Counsel — Regulatory at Coinbase.
Concerns regarding the integrity of cryptocurrency markets are a hurdle to mainstream and institutional adoption of digital assets, in addition to being a key concern for regulators. To improve market integrity and provide consumers the confidence they deserve, Congress may need to enact legislation to support the orderly and secure functioning of crypto markets. Such legislation could expand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) authority to include the regulation and oversight of digital commodity exchange markets.
To access the virtual currency marketplace, consumers rely on virtual asset trading platforms, often referred to as “exchanges,” that match buyers and sellers of virtual currency, performing functions similar to traditional stock exchanges, private trading venues, and broker-dealers.
However, unlike those legacy players, crypto exchanges must navigate a labyrinthine patchwork of state-by-state regulatory frameworks in order to operate across the United States. This convoluted and inefficient process creates significant barriers to entry for new exchanges, a complicated compliance burden for existing exchange, inhibits uniform regulation of digital commodity exchanges, and complicates consumers’ ability to understand the oversight of the exchanges they choose to use. Consumers and cryptocurrency exchanges deserve a clear regulatory framework, the establishment of which would ultimately enhance market integrity and drive consumer adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Today’s launch of the Blockchain Association’s Market Integrity Working Group advances our mission to provide clarity to the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.
