Six Chinese Blockchain industry associations have jointly issued a protocol to better manage and control financial risks for initial coin offering (ICO) in China, in the country’s first voluntary framework to regulate the development of one of the hottest areas in financial technology.
According to the Chinese media, Guizhou Blockchain Industry Technology Innovation Alliance, Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance, Blockchain Finance Association, Guiyang Blockchain Innovation Research Institute and two other unnamed entities together released “Guiyang Blockchain ICO Consensus” yesterday in Guiyang with an eye to offer investor protection and maintain financial system stability.
The growth of Chinese ICO market has been wild. Currently there are 43 platforms providing ICO services in China. The accumulative ICO fundraising value reached RMB2.6 billion (US$420 million), with around 105,000 people participated. Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing are the three cities with most ICO platforms. The three cities together have over 60% of the total platforms. Bitcoin and Ethereum are top two currencies, together accounting for 90% of ICO fundraising, according to data from China Internet Security Technology Commission.
The explosive growth and financial risks associated with it have led the Chinese blockchain associations to gather and release the protocol. It’s unclear how much enforcement power the document has on ICOs in China, but the move highlights the urgency industry leaders feel regarding risks arising from an increasing number of ICOs across the country.
There are currently 43 platforms in China that provide ICOs. The most, of which, are located in Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing, which account for more than 60 percent of the total number of platforms.
