Majority of Crypto Exchanges Want Regulations - Survey

But the regulation must not be too tight.

Eighty-eight percent of cryptocurrency exchanges polled actually want industry regulation and believe that this would be the solution to greater industry-wide threats.

This is the main finding of a survey done by the Lithuanian crypto-friendly payments company Mistertango among 24 crypto exchanges across Europe, Asia, South America and Oceania with total daily trading volumes of over $100 million. The study looked at the industry’s feelings towards regulation, anonymity and the maturation of the market.

On the other hand, the survey found that 17% of the respondents believe that too strict regulation is the biggest threat to the industry and that lawmakers should be careful not to regulate the exchanges out of existence. According to a quarter of the participants in the poll, positive regulation is the way to go.

"Until now, the industry has not had its say on regulation," said Oleksandr Lutskevych, CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO. It has been widely supposed that crypto companies want to avoid a regulated environment, but this is far from the truth. The industry is all too aware that regulation will lead to the maturity of the market and ensure that businesses remain free from suspicion of involvement with illegitimate uses of cryptocurrency."

The majority of the surveyed exchanges (55%) said that crypto users should be subject to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks and procedures similar to those used by “traditional” financial service providers.

A total of 30% of the respondents identified a potentially significant market crash and the devaluation of assets as the biggest threat to the industry, while another one third said that the biggest threat is the perceived criminality of the sector. A fifth of those surveyed said that anonymity and the lack of transparency of partners was the biggest threat.

"The industry is crying out for regulation and the response from partners has shown this," said Gabrielius Bilkštys, business manager at Mistertango. "Uncertainty is the biggest fear, and regulation is critical to provide the stability we need. Unfortunately, there is no regulatory consensus – worldwide or otherwise. For cryptocurrencies to move towards the scale and ubiquity possessed by fiat currency, it needs cohesive, considered and comprehensive regulation. Thus, regulation will be a catalyst, not an inhibitor to the crypto market’s development."

As for what would help the industry the most after regulation, 40% said it is a change in the banks’ attitude, which would lead to wider acceptance of cryptocurrencies. Indeed, many banks have imposed a variety of sanctions and restrictions, making it nearly impossible for cryptocurrency traders to deposit funds into their crypto trading accounts on the various exchanges. Earlier this year, a number of large banks in various parts of the world, such as Wells Fargo, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Bank of America, Citi, Morgan Chase, and Lloyd’s, banned their clients from buying cryptocurrencies with credit cards.

Mistertango is regulated by the Bank of Lithuania as an electronic money institution. The company offers dedicated IBAN accounts to individuals and crypto-related businesses including cryptocurrency exchanges and ICO companies and enables the transfer of money instantly via SEPA and accompanying prepaid MasterCard. Mistertango partners with a number of crypto-exchanges such as CEX.IO, itBit, Coingate, Exmo, Coinfalcon, and Gatecoin.