This article was first published on My Link
The Philippine crypto community has cheered the newly revealed draft rules on Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in the country.
Describing the move as a major step forward for the local blockchain industry, stakeholders have welcomed the proposals made by the Philippines Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC).
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I think it’s great that SEC is finally able to understand the different intricacies involved in an ICO not only for their own understanding but also to protect the consumer,” said the CEO of Botcoin and CypherOdin, Mariano Jose Diaz Villafuerte IV speaking to Cryptovest.
Patrick Palacios, LoyalCoin CEO also expressed his excitement as one of the many stakeholders who welcome the proposal. He added that the world presently views the Philippines as a highly welcoming region for crypto and blockchain.
Issued by the SEC on Thursday, the draft rules aim to regulate digital tokens trading, ICOs and cryptocurrencies at large.
New ICO Assessment Procedure
If the draft passes into law, ICO assessments will take two stages, initial assessment and registration. During initial assessment, issuers will be required to prove that their tokens are not securities.
Those that are deemed as securities will then be required to proceed to the registration stage to get appropriate approval.
Following the release, the financial watchdog has requested all interested parties to submit their comments on the proposals by 31st August.
According to the draft, the SEC explains that though the present registration process for IPOs refers to securities, they are not a perfect fit for ICOs. As such, the new rules are meant to govern security token issuance.
One reason for the positive response from the community is well summed up by Acudeen founder Jesus Gregorio B. Atencio III:
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I was very happy that the SEC finally came out with the rules… because right now legitimate ICOs are lumped together with less-than-legitimate ICOs.”