Bitcoin needs regulation, says CEO of Chinese exchange
But Bobby Lee insists BTCC is not cracking down on bitcoin
By Saheli Roy Choudhury
Cryptocurrencies need to be regulated or they risk going out of control as more people invest in these digital assets, the head of a major Chinese bitcoin exchange platform warned on Tuesday.
Bitcoin and ethereum, two popular cryptocurrencies, have seen rapid price swings in recent months. In May, a 19 per cent price fall for bitcoin saw nearly US$4 billion in value wiped off. Last month, the price of ethereum crashed as low as 10 cents from around US$319 in about a second on the GDAX cryptocurrency exchange. Because there’s bullishness in the market, some predict bitcoin’s price to soar as high as US$100,000 in a decade.
“I think regulation is much needed for this new asset class because otherwise it’ll run amok from society,” Bobby Lee, CEO of exchange BTCC, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“But the challenge is how to craft the rules around this new technology,” he said at the sidelines of the Rise conference in Hong Kong. Lee added, “I think it’s taking the lawmakers and regulators some time to wrap their minds around it, and to come up with the appropriate rules and laws to govern companies, how we do business, to govern individuals (and) how people conduct business online.”
Regulators are exploring ways to regulate these digital currencies, and some have flexed their muscles in recent months. Earlier this year, the People’s Bank of China stepped up its efforts to regulate the market, including setting up a task force to carry out inspections and ensure bitcoin exchanges had implemented anti-money laundering systems, and warned several exchanges against violating rules.
Some saw the moves from the PBOC as an attempt to crackdown on bitcoin and part of Beijing’s broader attempts to stem capital outflows. But Lee disagreed.