At a European Parliament plenary debate on regulating virtual currencies and ICOs, Valdis Dombrovskis set out that the main questions for financial regulators are whether (i) crypto-assets are financial instruments, and are therefore covered by financial regulation, and (ii) that regulation is suitable and addresses the risks, whilst supporting and enabling the opportunities. Financial regulation and definitions of financial instruments were developed before the age of crypto-assets and ICOs. It is, therefore, often not clear whether they are covered or not, even if they present similar features to financial instruments.
The Commission is assessing this question together with the European Supervisory Authorities, which are expected to present their conclusions by the end of the 2018.
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