[05-04-2018] Japanese Government Reviews Proposal to Legalize ICO

[Goozzi]

Japan is a very important region when it comes to cryptocurrency and blockchain. It now seems the country is preparing to accept initial coin offerings as well. Local legislators have unveiled guidelines for ICOs. This may very well set a global precedent for all other countries around the world as well.

The Initial Coin Offerings Gamble
With so many initial coin offerings taking place, there are a lot of concerns to take into account. A lot of these projects don’t adhere to any specific guidelines. Instead, they are either legitimate or a complete scam. For the average investor, it is difficult to distinguish between the two as of right now.

Without proper guidelines, things will not improve anytime soon. Several companies are flagged by the SEC for issuing unregulated securities. The Centra issue is just the latest in a growing list of companies scrutinized by the SEC. Rest assured there will be others to follow suit in this regard. Thankfully, it seems we may have some guidelines for initial coin offerings in the future.

Japan is leading the charge in this regard. The country is also one of the few to officially recognize cryptocurrencies as legal tender in recent years. It is only normal they see merit in the ICO concept, even though it poses significant risks as well. Addressing those concerns is the number one priority in the country. With basic guidelines now in place, things look good for this nascent industry.

Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/04/05/japanese-government-reviews-proposal-legalize-initial-coin-offerings/

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[CryptoBry]

I am sure this can open the floodgate for good ICOs to be registered and do business based in Japan. Now, am also sure that there will be strict regulations to weed out scammers from using ICO to grab money from the public but this can be a big good news once the regulatory framework will already be approved and implemented. I am hoping that soon we will have Japan and Russia opening their market for the ICO platform.

[vlad230]

If they want to legalize them, then that means they will also do background checks for the owners and require them to be a legitimate business. If they could do it the same way as IPOs work then that would be great.

The main problem with ICOs, like OP said, is that they aren't regulated and there are a lot of scammers out there that just 'run with the money'. I think that if ICOs will be legitimate then the current ban on cryptos, currently in effect on social networks and large advertising platforms like Google Adsense, will be lifted, the hype will continue thus the prices will be on a bull trend again

[richardsNY]

I think that if ICOs will be legitimate then the current ban on cryptos, currently in effect on social networks and large advertising platforms like Google Adsense, will be lifted, the hype will continue thus the prices will be on a bull trend again

ICO's being legalized doesn't mean social media platforms will lift their crypto related ad bans, especially because of the fact that it concerns crypto in its entirety they don't want to get exposure on their platforms, and not just ICO's. I think eventually, when crypto is no longer the shady thingy ignorant people think it is, we might see these ad bans get lifted, but that will likely take years and years. Other than that, I think it's safe to say that people here aren't surprised anymore with how Japan is rushing forward. It almost seems like they are an unstoppable bull run themselves. The only negative aspect here is that they are growing so large, that they are a very important factor of this market, and that more than China has even been. As long as they remain the same open minded country in crypto terms, it's all good, but brace yourself for the day they do a 360 -- it just shows that we need a better overall growth distribution

[vlad230]

ICO's being legalized doesn't mean social media platforms will lift their crypto related ad bans, especially because of the fact that it concerns crypto in its entirety they don't want to get exposure on their platforms, and not just ICO's.
[...]

Yes, indeed, they're not going to lift them as soon as they're legalized, it's going to take some years, not doubt about that.

Legalizing ICOs will open the possibility to whitelisting those ads, don't you agree? In this current shady state they will never bring the ads back thus the interest will decrease and we'll continue to be on a bear trend.

The official reason behind the ban was that ICOs and crypto in general is a shady business where people can loose money. As coin telegraph said it here: https://cointelegraph.com/news/big-tech-are-banning-crypto-and-ico-ads-is-there-a-reason-to-panic

FB:

“We want people to continue to discover and learn about new products and services through Facebook ads without fear of scams or deception. That said, there are many companies who are advertising binary options, ICOs and cryptocurrencies that are not currently operating in good faith.”

Google:

"We don't have a crystal ball to know where the future is going to go with cryptocurrencies, but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution.”

[orions.belt19]

I think that if ICOs will be legitimate then the current ban on cryptos, currently in effect on social networks and large advertising platforms like Google Adsense, will be lifted, the hype will continue thus the prices will be on a bull trend again

ICO's being legalized doesn't mean social media platforms will lift their crypto related ad bans, especially because of the fact that it concerns crypto in its entirety they don't want to get exposure on their platforms, and not just ICO's. I think eventually, when crypto is no longer the shady thingy ignorant people think it is, we might see these ad bans get lifted, but that will likely take years and years. Other than that, I think it's safe to say that people here aren't surprised anymore with how Japan is rushing forward. It almost seems like they are an unstoppable bull run themselves. The only negative aspect here is that they are growing so large, that they are a very important factor of this market, and that more than China has even been. As long as they remain the same open minded country in crypto terms, it's all good, but brace yourself for the day they do a 360 -- it just shows that we need a better overall growth distribution

Yes, most people are probably not surprised with the news since Japan is well known to be more open to crypto as compared to other countries. Let's hope that this goes on well and doesn't end up spiralling downwards.

This may then be a great opportunity to get rid of the stigma that ICOs are 'shady'. With this legalization of ICOs in Japan, then this would allow projects to flourish and investors to flock in. After a successful ICO or two, people will come to realize how profitable and beneficial ICOs are.

[bbc.reporter]

Legalize is the wrong word I reckon. The better and more accurate word would be to regulate. To which I have mixed feelings of, because the community is giving up some control of the cryptospace and offering it willingly to the government. We already know how corrupt governments can be.

[RamonBTC]

Legalize is the wrong word I reckon. The better and more accurate word would be to regulate. To which I have mixed feelings of, because the community is giving up some control of the cryptospace and offering it willingly to the government. We already know how corrupt governments can be.

Totally agreed. When it comes to government they won’t just look and do nothing, but to regulate. Legalising cryptocurrency without any restrictions is an impossible scenario and are mostly a limited time strategy, but slowly be changing in putting up one rules at a time.

Even we welcome a change of heart into ICO and we might agree about regulating it for the security of the investors. Hope anonymity and decentralized nature of it, remains.

[BitHodler]

To which I have mixed feelings of, because the community is giving up some control of the cryptospace and offering it willingly to the government. We already know how corrupt governments can be.

People aren't willingly giving anything to the government. Whether we want it or not, governments will regulate each and every aspect of this market, and we can only look at it and adapt to the situation.

You can't expect the government to just let things as they are. They see a new opportunity of extortion, and making money. In other words, them regulating ICOs is just the next step but definitely not the last.

Good thing is that this will result in more decentralized platforms to emerge where people themselves or businesses can host their ICOs on their terms. It's the perfect form of freedom.

Governmental actions result in opposite freedom actions, which is great!

[onrise]

Legalize is the wrong word I reckon. The better and more accurate word would be to regulate. To which I have mixed feelings of, because the community is giving up some control of the cryptospace and offering it willingly to the government. We already know how corrupt governments can be.

Earlier they do better it will be for so many investors who had invested and awaiting the btc to cross 10k. It is going through some downfall at the moment and thus many are staying away due to this. Some sort of momentum will help the btc price to recover back.

[HereisTommy]

The phenomenon of ICO regulates itself. Now we have a lot of scam and unprofitable projects, that's why investors are loosing trust. It will lead to the situation when projects will become more serious and clever, people will change their mind and everything will be fine

[sandor111]

Legalize is the wrong word I reckon. The better and more accurate word would be to regulate. To which I have mixed feelings of, because the community is giving up some control of the cryptospace and offering it willingly to the government. We already know how corrupt governments can be.

Totally agreed. When it comes to government they won’t just look and do nothing, but to regulate. Legalising cryptocurrency without any restrictions is an impossible scenario and are mostly a limited time strategy, but slowly be changing in putting up one rules at a time.

Even we welcome a change of heart into ICO and we might agree about regulating it for the security of the investors. Hope anonymity and decentralized nature of it, remains.

Cryptocurrencies like BTC or Monero are different thing than ICO (tokens). ICO is more like company and tokens are shares of that company and they should be regulated. While minable cryptocurrencies are not companies so they don't need regulation.

[Qartersa]

I have been to Japan just recently and I noticed a huge chunk of the population actually knows about it. Although I cannot really tell if this fact is brought about by Japan itself or by the tourists that come by. You know, Japan is very much popular to tourists especially during the Sakura season. Hence, I cannot really say what brought about the influx of cryptocurrencies. Although one important factor is that Japan is known to be technologically-advanced, thus, this may be the cause why they are one of those countries that pioneered the acceptance of Bitcoin in the market. Anyhow, I think the Japanese government is proactive when it comes to these matters thus it is not surprising that they now categorically intend to review the proposal to legalize ICOs.

[Sithara007]

Legalize is the wrong word I reckon. The better and more accurate word would be to regulate. To which I have mixed feelings of, because the community is giving up some control of the cryptospace and offering it willingly to the government. We already know how corrupt governments can be.

At least the Japanese government is better than the other governments. So far the regulation of Bitcoin and other forms of crypto-currency in Japan hasn't caused any serious issues to the Bitcoin users there. On the other hand, corrupt governments such as those in South Korea and India has tried to ban Bitcoin.

[AndrewBoltz]

At least the Japanese government is better than the other governments. So far the regulation of Bitcoin and other forms of crypto-currency in Japan hasn't caused any serious issues to the Bitcoin users there. On the other hand, corrupt governments such as those in South Korea and India has tried to ban Bitcoin.

What I know is that there's really no ban on South Korea and India rather it was just regulation, or am I wrong. Those FUD makers are very good at doing their job. Anyway, Japan is very open to crypto even with had happened to the exchange based from them another good news I guess.