Specialist cryptocurrency firms Coinbase, Fidelity Investments and Square have joined forces to create a lobbying group, the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI).
Gus Coldebella, one of the organisers of the CCI and Chief Policy Officer at Paradigm, has said that the newly formed group intends to create a consensus on the cryptocurrency industry’s policy priorities.
The group will also work to organise the industry’s top leaders to educate and inform both policy makers and the general public on issues relevant to the industry’’s established priorities.
“This work will require sharing insights and analysis about crypto, while correcting the misperceptions that inevitably accompany a transformative new technology,” said Coldebella.
“By educating leaders about crypto, we can help empower them to participate in the crypto ecosystem for the benefit of their citizens, communities, and families.”
The newly formed CCI will work to support international governments and institutions in dealing with cryptocurrency, and will encourage the development of crypto-related public policy.
Additionally, the lobby group will work to mould public perceptions on the positive aspect of crypto investments, as global interest in the sector increases among consumers.
In the UK alone, a survey conducted in January found that a third of British consumers were ‘intrigued’ by cryptocurrencies, but were too ‘baffled’ by the emerging sector to make serious investments.
The survey also found, however, that more people chose cryptocurrency in their top three investments (30 per cent) than real estate (19 per cent) and almost the same number chose gold (31 per cent), when asked what sector they would invest over £100 in.
Bitcoin, one of the most widely recognised and widely used crypto currencies, has seen significant increases in value in recent months, rising by 2% to $144 billion last week, culminating in a total market capitalisation of $1.1 trillion, largely driven by the decision by PayPal to allow crypto-transactions on its payments platform.
The increase in both value and consumer interest, however, has attracted the interest of financial authorities, some of which are now moving to further regulate the burgeoning sector.
Also last week, the Canadian Securities Administration (CSA) and Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), outlined new securities requirements concerning crypto-trading, further integrating cryptocurrency into Canada’s financial regulatory framework.
Additionally, although the EU has yet to finalise its statutory rulebook on directives and standards governing crypto transactions. the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), stated in January that ‘there has to be regulation’ of Bitcoin, while insinuating that cryptocurrencies have been used to fund criminal transactions.