The overarching principles of the code include taking reasonable measures to comply with standing rules and regulations; conducting know-your-customer due diligence; putting in place a transparent management team and legal structure; managing conflicts of interest; and treating customers fairly.
GDF claims the code will result in private placements being reduced from six weeks to six seconds, and lead to a new route to capital. “The cryptoasset market is growing and needs a global rule set,” says Simon Taylor, Co-founder of GDF and consultancy 11:FS. “Securities tokens are coming, and they need a clear rule set too. The advantage of this new tech is that it’s global, so we need a global code of conduct which is an industry-led way to set and manage rules in an unclear regulatory space.”
More than 140 organisations and professionals have contributed to the development of the code. A consultation on its next version is running until 30th August 2018. The GDF open community includes organisations such as Circle, Consensys, Hyperledger, R3, Coinshares and Indiegogo.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.