The recent ICO ban in China has caused a lot of friction and concern. Other governments around the world are now contemplating how to handle initial coin offerings. Canada is taking a slightly different route in this regard, to say the least. Quebec’s regulator for financial institutions wants to get a better understanding of blockchain technology. As a result, they allow Impak Finance to host the first Canadian regulated ICO. A major milestone for the country, that much is evident.
It is good to see some countries remain open-minded toward ICOs. Although there are financial risks associated with an initial coin offering, it also creates new opportunities. Over in Canada, we will soon see the world’s first Canadian regulated ICO take place. Impak Group will host their crowdsale thanks to the AMF’s sandboxed environment. The Autorite des Marches Financiers is an industry leader in this regard. Rather than ban such crowdsales, they aim to introduce a regulatory sandbox to oversee the use of blockchain technology.
AMF Embraces the ICO Concept in its own way
According to the AMF, the token sale is a security. However, that causes no financial or regulatory friction whatsoever in the eyes of Quebec’s regulator. An interesting turn of events few people assumed was possible. Then again, it can pay off to maintain a different mindset in this regard. In fact, Impak Finance is now a part of the AMF’s regulatory sandbox. This makes the ICO fully regulated and in accordance with local law. A rather surprising turn of events for a security token, but one that sets an interesting precedent as well.
What is even more surprising is how the AMF doesn’t mind bending the rules. More specifically, Impak Finance doesn’t have to adhere to some key requirements. Other securities issuers would have a laundry list of things to do. That is not the case where this ICO is concerned, for the time being. One representative feels this is the best and only viable course of action when it comes to initial coin offerings. After all, they aren’t on the same level as traditional securities sales whatsoever. It is only normal one needs to maintain some different rules in this regard.
Whether or not this bodes well for the future of ICOs, remains to be seen. It is an interesting experiment by the AMF, that much everyone will agree on. However, they may create a very dangerous precedent in this regard. Allowing companies to skip out on some requirements can easily backfire as well. All eyes will be on Impak Finance in the coming months, to say the least. If they can deliver on their promise, we may enter a new era for cryptocurrency ICOs in general.
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