In 2017, the Russian investors have lost about $150 million because of fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO) campaigns. The Russian Association of cryptocurrencies and blockchain (RAKIB) will develop a set of rules to make this industry as safe as possible.
The Russian Association of cryptocurrencies and blockchain will develop a new standard for ICO campaigns in Russia. The reliability of information about the founders and the team, the business plan of the project and the MVP will be one of the criteria for distinguishing honest ICO from fraudulent ones.
According to RAKIB, in 2017, ICO campaigns from Russia attracted $300 million, half of these funds were stolen by attackers. The organization believes that this year, the Russian ICO may receive up to $1,5 billion in the case if the industry will become more transparent and safe for investors.
Examination of new projects for their compliance with the standard will be carried out by a special Committee, which will be organized in the Russian Association of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The main points for the ICO will be the availability of its own website and the degree of plagiarism detected in it, information about previously implemented projects and the Roadmap. In addition, the organizers will have to present a White paper, a business plan, proven viability and a minimum implemented version of the project.
These standards will not be approved by law, they will become part of the self-regulation of the market. Chairman of the state Duma Committee on the financial market Anatoly Aksakov said that only General approaches to the ICO regulation are spelled out in the bill «On digital financial assets». He noted that the details will be monitored at the level of self-regulation.
In 2018, ICO campaigns have already collected more than $6 billion, 10% of the market falls on the Russian ICO. According to various estimates, startups can raise from $10 billion to $15 billion in just a year.
The state Duma is drafting a bill «On digital financial assets». It is being created by the Ministry of Finance together with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and RAKIB. The bill was approved in the government, now it is required to make several amendments. In particular, it is proposed to revise the explanations of the concepts of «mining», «token» and «cryptocurrency», as well as to establish control over transactions with digital money that exceed 600 thousand rubles (RUB).
