Why the Crypto Rating Council is good for the open blockchain ecosystem

At the Blockchain Association, we work every day towards the goal of providing regulatory certainty for the crypto industry. We strongly believe that open blockchain technology will drive the next wave of innovation in financial and digital services, and that the US must lead this effort. As often happens with new technologies, the regulatory environment must keep pace in order for the technology to achieve its full potential.

Unfortunately, this process doesn’t happen overnight. To achieve effective policy change, we need new approaches that take into account the unique, exciting features of blockchain technology. Congress is starting to devote sustained attention to these issues, and we have seen legislation solutions, such as the Token Taxonomy Act and others, introduced to solve the regulatory issues.

So, how are projects, exchanges, and investors supposed to operate until we succeed in the policymaking process? The Crypto Rating Council has a solution: a uniform system for rating assets to help determine whether they should be considered securities. This methodology was crafted using existing case law and SEC guidance.

At the Blockchain Association, we welcome the launch of the Crypto Rating Council. Many Blockchain Association members — including Coinbase, Circle, Kraken, DRW Cumberland, Grayscale, and Anchorage — are also part of the new organization. We’re pleased that the industry continues to collaborate on solving regulatory issues, as a group and in conversation with the relevant authorities. Because of this increasing cooperation, we’re hopeful that certainty in the regulatory environment will be achieved, sooner rather than later.