sued<\/a> Gemini in January for the alleged illegal sale of unregistered securities to retail clients.<\/p>\n\u201cIt used to be a big deal. It used to mean something. It used to mean maybe you\u2019re doing something wrong. Now you\u2019re probably doing something right,\u201d Winklevoss added.<\/p>\n
The SEC is currently pursuing legal action against some of the crypto industry\u2019s biggest names, from software firm Ripple Labs to major cryptocurrency exchanges, such as the U.S. branch of Binance Holdings and Coinbase Global. The regulator alleges that almost all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin are securities, meaning that it has the power to legislate over the legality of their use \u2014 a definition the wider crypto industry contends.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a security, right? It\u2019s like saying, is this car a horse? You know, okay, it moves kind of like a horse. It does some of the functions of a horse. But obviously it\u2019s quite different from a horse,\u201d Srinivasan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Asia blockchain adoption\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe sense of gloom gathering half a world away in the U.S. had settled over a number of the Token 2049 panel discussions. But there was still a lively sense of buzz around the sprawling Marina Bay Sands conference venue at the heart of Singapore\u2019s Central Business District over the course of the two-day event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Formula One was in town ahead of the Singapore grand prix Sunday and it was a chance for blockchain companies including Hong Kong-based OKX, principal sponsors of this year\u2019s Token 2049, to show off their ties with the sport. Glass-fronted skyscrapers loomed over traditional red-roofed \u201chawker\u201d food courts where race fans, crypto bros and well-heeled city residents rubbed shoulders over satay sticks and glasses of chilled beer as a respite from the heat.<\/p>\nImage: Envato Elements<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOn Friday night, the lucky few will attend the Token 2049 closing party at a rooftop nightclub in Marina Bay Sands overlooking the race track \u2014 all for a cool US$180 a ticket \u2014 where McLaren cars featuring a new design from sponsors OKX will compete. Various F1 drivers including the AlphaTauri team\u2019s Daniel Ricciardo and Alpine\u2019s Pierre Gasly also made heavily stage-managed promotional appearances at Token 2049.<\/p>\n
It was all suitably glitzy for an event held in Singapore. The city-state of some 5.5 million people is a growing hub for the global crypto industry. It is currently competing with Asian neighbors in the north \u2014 Hong Kong in particular \u2014 for recognition as the primary hub for crypto in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In August, Singapore became the first country in the world to finalize rules regarding stablecoins \u2014 a digital asset class pegged to fiat currency with an estimated current value of US$124 billion. Regulatory clarity and favorable tax rules have made the city-state one of the most attractive locations for blockchain businesses from around the world to set up shop.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere in Singapore, we\u2019re fortunate to have very competent regulators who are leaning into crypto and blockchain and try to understand and engage with the sector,\u201d said Norwegian Alex Svanevik, co-founder and CEO of Singapore-based blockchain analytics firm Nansen, during an interview.<\/p>\n
Svanevik said that, living in Singapore, he felt the sense of momentum for the blockchain industry building in the Asia region.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the three main destinations that people talk a lot about are Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong. All three have quite different strategies when it comes to how they approach the crypto industry. But Korea and Japan are potentially massive markets and they are already massive markets for many exchanges. So I think it\u2019s wise for people to look towards Asia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nSingapore\u2019s iconic Marina Bay Sands. Image: Will Fee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBut despite the high concentration of global and regional crypto businesses in the city, Singapore is not the principal growth market for the region. The 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index released by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis on Wednesday, the first day of the Token conference, found that growth in Singapore is slower than in other parts of the world, particularly other parts of South and Southeast Asia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Singapore came in 76th in the Chainalysis adoption index, down from 63rd last year. But regional neighbors Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia all made the top ten, as did the South Asian markets of Pakistan and India, with India topping the global list.<\/p>\n
Chainalysis founder and CEO Michael Gronager said during an interview at the event that there were a number of key takeaways from the findings, the main being that the Asia region is beginning to lead the way as a global growth market.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsia was mobile before the rest of the world was. It didn\u2019t mean that we never became mobile,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a region of typically early tech adoption. This is tech and this is early adoption of tech. So I think that this is more a sign of where it will go in the rest of the world than anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
US turnaround<\/strong><\/p>\nThe U.S., despite its ongoing regulatory woes, came in third in the Chainalysis blockchain adoption index. That reading is a sign, Gronager said, that crypto activity remains high in the world\u2019s largest economy. But there was consensus among Token 2049 panelists that the regulatory impasse in the U.S. has created a bottleneck for the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking during the event\u2019s opening panel, Mike Belshe, CEO of digital asset custodial service BitGo said that a lack of regulatory clarity is a danger to consumers.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegulators and legislators have to get their priorities straight as to what matters first,\u201d he said. \u201cFrankly, the highest priority item when it comes to crypto regulation should focus on the basics of making sure the assets are safe and can\u2019t be rug pulled.\u201d<\/p>\nPanel at Token2049. From left: Panel moderator and Bloomberg reporter Annabelle Droulers, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, OKX President Hong Fang, Cofounder and CEO of Bitgo Mike Belshe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nCould the U.S. make a turn around, following jurisdictions like Singapore in Asia toward a happier compromise between regulators and the industry that would benefit users? CEO of Ripple Labs, Brad Garlinghouse \u2014 also appearing during the opening panel \u2014 said that, first, the politics would have to be removed from the discussion for that to happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking about the U.S. because it\u2019s a big economy and they\u2019re quite hostile towards Crypto. But I think, you know, it doesn\u2019t feel political here in Singapore. It feels like they\u2019re making smart policy that\u2019s driving innovation here locally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Other jurisdictions such as the U.K., Dubai and Switzerland, he added, are also moving in the same direction.<\/p>\n
For Hong Fang, CEO of OKX and another opening session panelist, it is the pragmatism of attitudes toward regulation in Asia that has led to breakthroughs in rule making and a compromise between governments, legislators and the crypto industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can only control what we can control, which is to build the right product, continue to focus on the technology and to support responsible regulation and engagement so that we can actually make sure we have a healthy environment,\u201d Fang said.<\/p>\n
A number of conference participants said over the course of the two days that they welcome the ongoing bear market and period of regulatory scrutiny as a way to rid the industry of its bad actors and for prompting an increase in innovation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe increasing scrutiny over the industry to some extent is actually a good thing because it sparks discussion around what is right, what is wrong,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPushing people to actually focus on what matters to the customer, which is customer protection, is a good thing. And for that purpose, I think regulation and technological innovation is in line,\u201d Fang added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He wasn\u2019t there. But Gary Gensler still took center stage at the Token 2049 crypto conference in Singapore Wednesday and Thursday.\u00a0 The head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has emerged as the crypto industry\u2019s principal bogeyman in the year since the Token 2049 conference was last held in the Southeast Asian city-state.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":156631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[235,203,210,234,231,232,237,238,236,233],"class_list":["post-156630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blockchain","tag-bitcoin","tag-crypto-currency","tag-elon-musk","tag-ethereum","tag-hyperledger","tag-ibm","tag-mining","tag-nodes","tag-spacex","tag-tesla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156630"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156633,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156630\/revisions\/156633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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