Study 1: Regulatory standards for issuers of digital assets

Purpose

Purpose of this benchmarking is to provide insights into the current regulatory regimes for digital asset issuances, commonly also referred to as “initial coin offerings” or “initial token offerings”, with a view to:

Establishing a baseline understanding of the scope of these regimes and the nature of regulatory requirements covered

Identifying areas of commonality and divergence across jurisdictions

Supporting the identification of potential gaps, blinds spots or factors that could give rise to regulatory arbitrage and would benefit from further regulatory attention

The benchmarking framework and findings may also serve as a reference point for other jurisdictions in the design and evaluation of their own regimes and/or private sector stakeholders, including digital asset businesses, in understanding variations in expectations.

⁠

Scope

In scope for the first phase of this benchmarking are a subset jurisdictions that have implemented a bespoke regulatory framework for digital asset issuances. This approach was chosen to support coherence in the analysis and comparability across regimes.

The specific jurisdictions include:

Anguilla

Antigua & Barbuda

Bahamas

Bermuda

Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) countries (Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines)

Malaysia

Malta

Mauritius

Nigeria

Philippines

For future phases of the benchmarking, the scope is planned to be expanded to include jurisdictions that have chosen alternative paths to bringing digital asset issuances under the regulatory umbrella, such those operating under a hybrid model or those regulating digital assets under existing regulation.

⁠

Analysis framework

The benchmarking analysis comprises two modules:

Module 1: An assessment of the general regulatory requirements towards issuers of digital assets

This assessment evaluates existing regulatory requirements in four thematic areas:

Registration requirements covering the process for issuer registration/licensing including the conditions and criteria that must be met

General requirements for the issuance (white) paper as addressing inter alia requirements for the review and approval process of issuance papers as well as their publication

Investor protection provisions covering investor rights in relation to the issuance, investor identification obligations as well as advertising rules.

Other compliance requirements that issuers must fulfil including in relation to data and privacy, security risk management as well as regulatory reporting

It is important to stress that this does not reflect an exhaustive view of all regulatory requirements that apply to issuers.

Module 2: An assessment of the specific requirements for the content of issuance (white) papers

This assessment evaluates the current expectations for the nature of information to be included in the issuance (white) paper on the basis of a taxonomy that differentiates 10 different content categories:

Issuer information: Background information about the issuer and the key persons involved in the issuance

Project information: Specific information about the purpose of the issuance and the underlying project organization

Digital asset information: Specific information about the characteristics of the digital assets on offer

Offer information: Details about the offer including volume and amount of the issuance, mechanisms for conducting the offer as well as the planned use of proceeds

Technology information: Information on the technological infrastructure underpinning the digital asset including details on specific aspects such as smart contracts and wallets used

Investor information: Information about the investor base and the approach to the marketing and distribution of the digital asset on offer

Investor rights: Details on specific rights that investors are afforded in relation to the offer and how these rights can be exercised.

Risk information: Description of the risks associated with the issuance and the digital asset on offer and their mitigation

Safeguards: Information about other safeguards such in relation to AML/CFT procedures, cyber risk management and data protection

Other information

Within each module, existing regulatory requirements across jurisdictions were mapped against the assessment dimension. In doing so, a broad-based approach was adopted and requirements both from legislative documents and available guidance documents considered.

⁠

Study results

Click on the link below to access the detailed benchmarking analyses

⁠

Module 1: General regulatory requirements towards issuers of digital assets⁠

⁠

Module 2: Specific requirements for the content of issuance (white) papers⁠

⁠

Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.

Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (

CtrlP

) instead.