What the World’s Governments Are Saying About Cryptocurrencies

Bloomberg News

March 26, 2018, 9:38 AM GMT+5Getting your head around cryptocurrencies was hard enough before governments got involved. But now that policy makers around the world are drawing up fresh regulations on everything from exchanges to initial coin offerings.
The rules can vary wildly by country, given a lack of global coordination among authorities. And while that may change after finance chiefs discuss digital assets at the Group of 20 meeting in Buenos Aires this week, for the time being there’s a wide range of opinions on how best to regulate the space.
Most of the world’s cryptocurrency trading takes place in this tech-savvy region, with Japan playing a dominant role after it introduced a licensing system for digital-asset exchanges last year.
Singapore’s deputy prime minister has called cryptocurrencies an “experiment,” adding that he doesn’t see a strong case to ban trading. Taiwan authorities are taking a wait-and-see approach, while the Philippines plans to roll out rules for ICOs by year-end.
Korea, which became a hotbed of cryptocurrency activity last year, is also tightening oversight as it works on a comprehensive set of regulations, though it has allowed exchanges to keep operating for now.
Most cryptocurrency trading in the U.S. takes place in a legal gray area, a point highlighted by the nation’s two top market watchdogs in testimony to Congress in February. Still, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been scrutinizing everything from ICOs to cryptocurrency hedge funds and trading venues. 
In Canada, regulators have said that ICOs may be treated as securities and products linked to cryptocurrencies.At the same time, the country’s stock exchanges have become popular destinations for crypto-related stocks and exchange-traded funds.The European Commission is still reviewing the bloc’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The European Securities and Markets Authority, which coordinates standards across member states, has proposed lageslations tied to virtual currencies for retail investors, and is also assessing how the EU’s new MiFID II rules apply to digital assets. One regulation that’s already in the pipeline: platforms that exchange virtual currencies for conventional money will soon have to verify the identity of their customers.
In the U.K., a parliamentary committee is looking at how to policy digital currencies.Russia’s finance ministry unveiled draft legislation in January that would allow cryptocurrency payments while allowing ICOs and the exchange of virtual currencies into the traditional sort.
It’s mostly a gray area for cryptocurrency regulation in major African economies. South Africa’s markets regulator doesn’t oversee virtual currencies or digital-asset exchanges, though the central bank has said it will investigate an “appropriate policy framework and regulatory regime.” In Zimbabwe, where digital currencies are traded on exchanges and used for remittance payments.
It’s a similar story in Kenya, one of Africa’s most tech-savvy nations. There, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have grown in popularity. (for investment and other information please contact  +923139219988  +923085393603 )
— With assistance by Sam Mamudi, Adrian Leung, Andrea Tan, Silla Brush, Benjamin Robertson, Paul Wallace, Benjamin Bain, Yuji Nakamura, Stepan Kravchenko, Kristine Owram, Godfrey Marawanyika, Julia Leite, Colleen Goko, Santanu Chakraborty, Emily Cadman, Cindy Wang, Anuchit Nguyen, and Aline Oyamada