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FinTech
Principles Based Regulation - Raising the Glass Ceiling on the Blockchain Industry
By Nick Cowan, CEO, Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX)
Despite the downturn in the cryptocurrency market, the global blockchain landscape continues to build momentum, illustrated by the surging jobs market, the stream of high profile education offerings, and a range of government departments across the world pursuing applications of the technology. For too long, however, clear regulation has been the missing piece of the puzzle — placing a glass ceiling over the industry as a whole, stifling the progress of potentially landmark projects, and dissuading others from pursuing decentralised innovation.
As the wider blockchain ecosystem continues to evolve at a fast pace, the importance of regulation has never been more pronounced. The full promise of the blockchain industry will be delivered with a principles-based regulatory framework in place, providing much-
needed guidance for companies entering the market. This would help them effectively plan and develop the projects that give expression to the spirit of decentralisation at the heart of this movement.
So what are the arguments for principles- based regulation? For all of the successes within the blockchain eco-system, there have been failures. Failures that perhaps could have been avoided if the right regulatory framework was in place to guide companies through challenging times, or prevent premature projects from entering the market. Between the start and midpoint of 2018, over 1,000 crypto projects ceased operations, a remarkable figure that highlights the volatility of the space, but perhaps more importantly, underlines the need for
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