We noted, with interest, testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, February 6th concerning cryptocurrencies. The heads of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, J. Christopher Giancarlo and Jay Clayton, respectively, testified about cryptocurrencies. Their comments focused on fraud in the initial coin offering marketplace. An initial coin offering uses crowdfunding to issue cryptocurrency, which is then used as capital for a startup. Blockchain is a new technology used to structure cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. It is believed to have a structure in which falsification is extremely difficult relative to conventional centralized-management systems and is expected to be applied to a wide variety of fields. Of course, this hearing was not about protecting the public: It was about turf. The SEC does not have direct authority over cryptocurrencies or ICOs. Congress will probably explicitly give the agency direct authority t
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