The China ICO Regulation: What It Means for AdEx
Official statement on the ban on raising funding through initial coin offerings
China just imposed a temporary ban on ICO fundraising, and this is raising a number of different questions that we would like address.
The ban is not permanent
According to local financial financial magazine Caixin, Chinese regulators — People’s Bank of China and China Securities Regulatory Commission — are currently deciding on how to handle ICOs. Caixin reports that a permanent suspension is possible.
Until any regulation is actually put in place, however, we have to assume that the ban on ICOs is temporary and will be lifted within reasonable time.
The AdEx token generation campaign is not covered by the ban
Our company is not registered in China — AdEx is an Estonian entity and is 100% compliant with the legislative framework of Estonia and the European Union. Furthermore, our crowd sale was carried out before and ICO ban was even hinted; had it been, we would have taken the necessary measures to exclude Chinese contributors from it.
Our fundraising campaign was thoroughly researched from a regulatory perspective, and we are constantly working on our legal standing. We are also in active communication with regulators in Estonia to ensure that we are not in breach of any piece of legislation.
Last but not least, we are developing an actual product that will be rolled out early — which gives us additional confidence that we will not be affected by the ban. In simple words: we are not a scam and are therefore not a target for any authorities.
Our partnership with NEO will not be affected
Some of our community members have expressed concern about our partnership with NEO. There is nothing to be worried about as we are not doing an ICO but we’re building a DApp on NEO.
In fact, the situation has sparked a positive sentiment about NEO. As a Reddit post by bentylerlive states, “Having specific rules in place gives the market a sense of permanency and legitimacy. It reassures many investors in China that the Chinese government is watching very closely for cases of fraud, and will react in order to[sic] protect the public. That’s bullish for NEO.”
Regulation is good in the long run
It is important to understand what is China trying to achieve here. Caixin quotes a source that said “90 percent of ICO projects are suspected of illegal fund-raising and intentional fraud”. Regulators are also concerned about ICOs being used to fund terrorism.
All in all, reasonable regulation would be beneficial for the entire blockchain industry. It could solve issues that are otherwise unsolvable, and will ensure a level of protection for investors and ICO project backers. This way, ICO scams will be easier to filter out, leaving room for legit projects to gather funding and build actual, useful products or services.
We will keep you posted as the situation unfolds.
