Anat Guetta, Chairwoman of the Israel Securities Authority, has announced a new approach to cryptocurrency  Regulation  Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are the most widely dealt with authorities in the FX industry.In its most basic sense, regulators help ensure the filing of reports and transmission of data to help police and monitor activity by brokers. Regulators also serve as a countermeasure against market abuse and malpractice by brokers. Brokers adhering to a list of mandated rules are authorized to provide investment activities in a given jurisdiction. By extension, many unauthorized or unregulated entities will also seek to market their services illegally or function as a clone of a regulated operation.Regulators are essential in snuffing out these scam operations as they prevent significant risks for investors.In terms of reporting, brokers are also required to regularly file reports about their clients’ positions to the relevant regulatory authorities. The most-recent regulatory push in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 has delivered a material shift in the regulatory reporting landscape.Brokers typically outsource the reporting to other companies which are connecting the trade repositories used by regulators to the broker’s systems and are handling this crucial element of compliance.Beyond FX, regulators help reconcile all matters of oversight and are watchdogs for each industry. With ever-changing information and protocols, regulators are always working to promote fairer and more transparent business practices from brokers or exchanges. Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are the most widely dealt with authorities in the FX industry.In its most basic sense, regulators help ensure the filing of reports and transmission of data to help police and monitor activity by brokers. Regulators also serve as a countermeasure against market abuse and malpractice by brokers. Brokers adhering to a list of mandated rules are authorized to provide investment activities in a given jurisdiction. By extension, many unauthorized or unregulated entities will also seek to market their services illegally or function as a clone of a regulated operation.Regulators are essential in snuffing out these scam operations as they prevent significant risks for investors.In terms of reporting, brokers are also required to regularly file reports about their clients’ positions to the relevant regulatory authorities. The most-recent regulatory push in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 has delivered a material shift in the regulatory reporting landscape.Brokers typically outsource the reporting to other companies which are connecting the trade repositories used by regulators to the broker’s systems and are handling this crucial element of compliance.Beyond FX, regulators help reconcile all matters of oversight and are watchdogs for each industry. With ever-changing information and protocols, regulators are always working to promote fairer and more transparent business practices from brokers or exchanges. Read this Term in Israel, according to local paper Calcalist. The process will include a sandbox which startups will use to test their products in a relatively easy environment.

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The ISA said in a statement that it is "...examining the establishment of a regulatory environment that makes it easier for companies that use new technology to supply financial products and services. It is possible that this may also be relevant to companies that issue distributed cryptographic coins."

In order to examine the issue, the ISA set up a committee of lawyers and consultants, and three possible approaches emerged.

The first was based on the system currently found in the US, that is, securities-oriented. ICOs there are defined on a case by case basis, and if an ICO is found to be a security it has to follow all relevant laws, including the requirement to submit a detailed business plan.

The second model, which the report calls Swiss, calls for specific legislation for cryptocurrency irrespective of whether a specific product can be called a security. The Swiss watchdog (FINMA) recognises three categories for tokens - payment, utility, and asset. The last of these is considered a security. A token exchangeable for a service and not a product is generally not, but tokens that afford voting rights to holders are, according to the report.

The third model is based on mass financing, and allows the raising of capital from the public.

Guetta has decided that the first model, combined with a regulatory sandbox, is apropriate for Israel.

This model is already close to what is already in place in the country, but the agency wishes to add to the regulation process a grace period during which startups would benefit from easing measures such as permission to advertise on the internet (which is currently not allowed) and permission to submit a shortened  Whitepaper  Whitepaper A whitepaper is defined as a pitch or persuasive, authoritative, and often in-depth report on a specific topic that presents a problem along with a respective solution. Marketers rely on whitepapers for a variety of reasons, most simply to educate an audience about a particular issue or to promote a particular methodology. In the cryptocurrency world, a whitepaper is a document that should contain all of the information about the technology that was used to build a cryptocurrency network, and how the network will be used, and for what purpose. Some whitepapers may also contain information about the business plan behind the cryptocurrencies and the organization that created it. Whitepapers as a Component of ICOsToday associated almost exclusively with Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), these documents actually seek to provide a roadmap for a business plan for the company. This can include information for potential investors about specific product, structure, mission, benefits, team, roadmap, future plans, etc. These documents proved essential to the rise of ICOs.Whitepapers today receive a generally negative connotation for this reason, given the amount of speculative and ultimately unsuccessful ICOs promoted via whitepapers.A troubling number of whitepapers severely lacked vital or in many cases accurate information. This proved one of the foundational elements of the ICO craze which consequently reached its apex in 2017.Most whitepapers delved into specific details for investors in ways that normal marketing channels could not readily transmit.In this sense, whitepapers were very effective in providing detailed information on products, security protocols, methodology, target users, and team members. Despite the propensity for scams or high failure rate, there have been several successful ICOs. This includes Ethereum, NEO, Spectrecoin, and others. A whitepaper is defined as a pitch or persuasive, authoritative, and often in-depth report on a specific topic that presents a problem along with a respective solution. Marketers rely on whitepapers for a variety of reasons, most simply to educate an audience about a particular issue or to promote a particular methodology. In the cryptocurrency world, a whitepaper is a document that should contain all of the information about the technology that was used to build a cryptocurrency network, and how the network will be used, and for what purpose. Some whitepapers may also contain information about the business plan behind the cryptocurrencies and the organization that created it. Whitepapers as a Component of ICOsToday associated almost exclusively with Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), these documents actually seek to provide a roadmap for a business plan for the company. This can include information for potential investors about specific product, structure, mission, benefits, team, roadmap, future plans, etc. These documents proved essential to the rise of ICOs.Whitepapers today receive a generally negative connotation for this reason, given the amount of speculative and ultimately unsuccessful ICOs promoted via whitepapers.A troubling number of whitepapers severely lacked vital or in many cases accurate information. This proved one of the foundational elements of the ICO craze which consequently reached its apex in 2017.Most whitepapers delved into specific details for investors in ways that normal marketing channels could not readily transmit.In this sense, whitepapers were very effective in providing detailed information on products, security protocols, methodology, target users, and team members. Despite the propensity for scams or high failure rate, there have been several successful ICOs. This includes Ethereum, NEO, Spectrecoin, and others. Read this Term.

The authority said that an interim report will be published for public comment soon. The decision was originally supposed to be published in January, but the handover from previous chairman Shmuel Hauser to Guetta delayed the release.

A change of direction?

Towards the end of his term Shmuel Hauser had been fairly negative towards cryptocurrency, treating the new industry with suspicion. Today's announcement could signal that the agency's new head intends to be more welcoming to cryptocurrency in the country.

We reached out to the ISA on this subject, and a spokesperson said that before the policy proposal is released, no conclusion can be drawn regarding a change in attitude.