The mysteriousness of U.S. financial regulations is holding incite distributed ledger technology (DLT) startups, the U.S. management Accountability Office (GAO) says.
The GAO's finding, in a bank account published March 22, is allocation of a broader analysis of fintech that examines the benefits, risks and regulations joined following the sector. The office, often referred to as a "congressional watchdog," then offers recommendations in the tab to tally up regulation of the space.
DLT firms, accompanied by others, told the office that the dearth of regulatory clarity in the U.S. "can outcome in some firms delaying the instigation of unbiased products and services - or not launching them in the associated States" at every because they're worried not quite "regulatory interpretation."
The GAO plus identifies "fragmented disclose licensing and reporting requirements" as often being "prohibitively expensive" for DLT firms.
In the freshening of cryptocurrencies, the bill identifies as risks the irreversibility of transactions, potential theft, and fraudulent token sales.
As for DLT, the bank account states that the technology could cut costs for consumers by reducing the lively expenses joined once payments and shrinking concurrence epoch for currency, derivatives and securities transactions. It goes on to list cybersecurity and a potential 51 percent attack as concerns.
This is not the first grow old the GAO has studied fintech in general or blockchain and crypto specifically.
In April 2017, the office released a relation that explored blockchain technology and outlined contemporaneous industry developments. At the time, it indicated it was hesitant if supplementary regulations were needed for blockchain technology and DLT.
Likewise, the GAO published a financial credit in January of 2017 that suggested the IRS should acknowledge put-on to inform taxpayers of potential liability from investing their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) in blockchain-based assets.