While Telegram has the trust from a huge user base and potential circulation economic scale, still, it bumps into that legal barrier, for now. And the key thing is unregistered.
“Is this going to be more of a legislative move or an SEC move? [...] At the moment I don’t know.” ~ SEC Commissioner Robert J. Jackson Jr.
The world will sort things out as we progress.
Meanwhile in Malaysia, as regulatory provisions evolve, there are some noteworthy domestic experiments and pilot projects on the implementation of blockchain technologies within the wider economy:
1) Securities Commission’s Project Castor for unlisted and over-the-counter markets,
2) Bank Negara Malaysia‘s blockchain-powered trade finance applications together with nine banking partners,
3) the Ministry of Education's initiative to use blockchain for the issuance of qualifications, as well as as the basis of a higher education consortium, and
4) Bursa Malaysia's pilot blockchain project for securities borrowing and lending.
This is in line with Malaysia's work visa program targeting tech freelancers in order to address the demand for blockchain talent which was announced in June 2019.
| In January 2019, Malaysia's Capital Markets and Services (Prescription of Securities) (Digital Currency and Digital Token) Order 2019 came into effect to regulate both digital assets and exchange platforms. The Order determines that any digital assets offered as a form of investment or used as a method of fundraising are classified as securities in the country. Meanwhile, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) updated its Guidelines on Recognised Markets to include regulatory requirements for digital asset exchanges (DAX), registering three DAX operators within its scope in May 2019. As of May, DAX operators were given nine months to become fully compliant and operational and are now the only venues deemed legitimate by the regulator to offer digital asset trading in Malaysia. |
Just across Malaysia's border up north in a neighboring country, SEC’s approval of first initial coin offering (ICO) portal operator was poised to open a new chapter in Thailand’s capital market history and pave the way to its digital economic transformation, as it becomes one of the first ASEAN nations to offer fully-compliant ICOs.
“SE Digital will be able to promote the tokenisation of traditional assets providing investors with access to previously illiquid and difficult to access assets such as commercial real estate and investment products with global exposure, while offering issuers with a new fundraising alternative that allows access to a wider pool of capital providers with cost savings accrued from the digitisation on the blockchain.” ~ Stephen Ng, Chief Marketing Officer of SE Digital, a subsidiary of major financial services firm Seamico Securities.
The world moves, with or without you and me.
News links:
Breaking: US SEC Deems $1.7 Billion Telegram Offering Illegal, Orders Halt
Malaysian Finance Ministry: Cryptocurrency Adoption Remains Low
Thailand’s First Regulated ICO Portal Targets $98M Token Offering
