ISA ICO legitimacy evaluation is on the agenda of the Israeli government. The Head of ISA has announced the ISA ICOs Regulation Committee establishment.
31 August, AtoZForex - The head of the Israeli Securities Authority (ISA), Prof. Shmuel Hauser, has informed the public about the establishment of the committee for review of the necessity to regulate the Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
Are ICOs legal? ISA ICO legitimacy evaluation
Apparently, the committee’s function is to analyze and identify whether ICOs and cryptocurrency are subject to Israeli securities laws. ICOs have gained an enormous popularity over the past few months. The token sales emerged as a popular method for startups to raise the capital.
At the same time, ICOs are a great opportunity for investors to gain some profits. After a number of high-profile ICOs have succeeded in recent months, the investors’ appetite has risen around the globe. The ISA has commented:
“Israel is considered as a leading country in Blockchain technology development with a flourishing industry.”
Global financial regulators are some of the first ones to pick up on the new trend. However, their mandate is also to protect investors. Just like this, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued SEC Cryptocurrency scam warning.
ISA ICOs Regulation Committee functions
The ISA ICOs Regulation Committee will be led by attorney Moti Yarnin and Dr. Gitit Gur-Gershgoren. Mr. Yarnin is the head of ISA Corporate Department, while Dr. Gitit Gur-Gershgoren is Chief Economist of ISA. Markets can expect the Committee to submit its initial recommendations by December 31st, 2017.
Following on the responsibilities of the ISA ICOs Regulation Committee, they comprise the following activities:
- Assess the financial essence of ICOs. Check whether it overlaps with other financial activity under Israeli Securities Law;
- Perform a comparative analysis of cryptocurrency regulations in different countries to assess the legality of Bitcoin;
- Analyze whether cryptocurrency trading and ICOs should be monitored by the ISA;
- Draft a new regulatory framework that provides a balance between alternative capital raising channels and technological innovations. This should ensure the full protection of Israeli investors from unsupervised investments;
- Analyze the possible collaborating opportunities with fellow regulators and with the local Blockchain community.
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