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The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, with support from the Nomura Research Institute (NRI), conducted the first global comparative study of cryptoasset regulation and the report doesn’t disappoint.

According to the authors of the report, “the study covers 23 jurisdictions and is based on both desktop research and in-person interviews with regulators and policymakers. The report aims to compare and contrast various regulatory approaches and practices with regards to cryptoassets in a number of jurisdictions and shed light on current regulatory challenges and opportunities.”

Highlights from the report include:

• The lack of standard terminology for cryptoassets across regulators and jurisdictions hampers a coordinated global regulatory response.

• The most sophisticated regulatory frameworks are found in countries with a less rigid attitude towards financial regulation and a low level of domestic cryptoasset activity. In contrast, 47 per cent of jurisdictions with a high level of domestic cryptoasset activity have adopted a "retrofitting" approach to regulation - amending existing laws and regulations in order to bring cryptoasset activities under the scope of existing laws.

• The vast majority of examined jurisdictions (82 per cent) have distinguished cryptoassets that exhibit characteristics of a security from other types of cryptoassets. Consequently, activities dealing with cryptoassets that qualify as a security are automatically brought under the ambit of securities law.

• Regulators have primarily focused their attention on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and exchange trading – functions that resemble well-understood activities in traditional financial markets. Consequently, other key activities specific to cryptoassets, such as alternative token distribution mechanisms (e.g. airdrop, fork) and the creation of cryptoassets through mining, have been overlooked. This may have significant impact depending on how the cryptoasset market develops.

The report is broken down into four sections, which are summarized here:

In addition to these high level summaries, there are a number of interesting graphics and visualizations throughout the report. Here are a few that stood out to me:

It is obvious that a lot of work went into creating this report. I found it to be well-researched and informative. If you want to read the entire document, you can see it here: https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/publications/cryptoasset-regulation/#.XL2TEqQpDDt

-Pomp

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THE RUNDOWN:

Crypto's Most-Controversial Man Explains His Cartoon Cat Fight: Craig Wright, who claims he created Bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, has warned several people who have criticized him that he plans to sue them for defamation and libel. Wright sent letters last week of his intent to sue to several prominent participants, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and podcaster Peter McCormack, and said they made disparaging comments about him, including on Twitter. Wright made comments on the controversy via email to Bloomberg News. Read more.

Volkswagen to Track Minerals Sourcing Via Blockchain: Volkswagen has announced it is joining a blockchain initiative for responsible materials sourcing. Using blockchain will provide enhanced transparency into mineral supply chains. “Joining the collaboration will enable the Volkswagen Group to gain greater insight into the provenance of cobalt used in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and other types of minerals used elsewhere in the production of vehicles,” the press release reads. Read more.

Afghanistan and Tunisia Look Into Crypto Bond Issuance: Afghanistan and Tunisia are looking into issuing a sovereign Bitcoin bond, Asia Times writes. The countries’ central bank governors believe state crypto bonds could help them with obtaining investments. They both spoke at the annual Spring Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington last week. Read more.

Chinese Publicly Listed Construction Company Turned Mining Firm Lost Over $23 Million: Chinese publicly listed construction company turned to cryptocurrency mining firm, Huatie HengAn, has reportedly been sold after its value decreased by over 90%. The development was reported by English-language local crypto-focused media 8btc on April 19. The firm has been reportedly sold for around 12 million yuan ($1.8 million), after its value decreased from 170 million Chinese yuan ($25.3 million) in under a year. Read more.

Social Media Platform Mithril Becomes Purported First to Migrate to Binance Chain: Decentralized social media platform Mithril has adopted the Binance Chain, the mainnet of the leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The development was announced by Mithril in a blog post published on April 18. With the step, Mithril — a social media platform that rewards content creators with its native token MITH — becomes the purported first to shift to the Binanche Chain, with MITH token migrating from ERC-20 to BEP2. Read more.

Interested in crypto research? Look no further. The premier research firm in the space, Delphi Digital, has two subscription offerings for individuals and institutions alike. Take a look at their Bitcoin and Ethereum reports to get a taste of their analysis. [Click here]

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Nothing in this email is intended to serve as financial advice. Do your own research.