Prepare for the new era of "no more ICOs" and "only the rich can invest (sophisticated investors)"
The crackdown has started and many governments are coordinated in banning ICOs. China, Korea, and to a lesser extent the United States. ICOs open up governments to the risk of money laundering and if would seem this is the actual reason for the ban of ICOs and for concern of rising prices in crypto. Now that crypto as a whole has a market cap in the 100+ billion range it becomes something governments cannot simply ignore anymore and the same pressures within governments to tackle money laundering with cash are the pressures pushing for bans on ICOs or in some cases digital currency as a whole.
The fact is, as cryptocurrency goes "private" with technology like zk-snarks and other forms of economic path obfuscation the governments of the world will not take it lightly. In addition with the market cap being higher the level of risk goes up with the rising market cap.
How do the members of Steemit feel about "money laundering"? Do you think this is the hidden reason behind why all governments are coordinating a crack down? I predicted a crack down months ago when the SEC and IRS made their moves in the US and I predicted a global crackdown. We are now starting to see the global crackdown starting with ICOs but it will not in my opinion end at ICOs.
References
https://twitter.com/CryptoKorean/status/913579266222247936
- CryptoKorean- https://www.sec.gov/oiea/investor-alerts-and-bulletins/ib_coinofferings
- https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/04/icos-may-be-seen-as-securities-by-u-s-and-singapore-regulators.html
- https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/28/south-korea-bans-all-new-cryptocurrency-sales.html
- http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/860157/north-korea-bitcoin-hackers-steal-fund-kim-jong-un-south-korea-cryptocurrency