Consob is preparing to regulate the ICOs

Le ICO (Initial Coin Offering) are one of the most critical fronts for the reputation of digital assets. In the past, in fact, they have proved to be so ideal tool to defraud a large mass of investors, as can moreover be found by consulting the report prepared by Kaspersky Lab in 2018.

The study in question, in fact, had revealed how cybercriminals used to deceive potential investors by developing fake websites that could faithfully reproduce the official ICO online pages, or by trying to gain access to their contacts, and then send a phishing email with the number of a digital wallet to which the acquired digital uniforms should be sent. 

In addition to this way hackers operate, investors must also pay attention to it ICO quality, that not infrequently they are completely aleatory projects launched with the specific intent of magnetizing funds and then rapidly disappearing from the scene

Precisely for this reason the monetary and financial institutions of the various countries are moving with ever greater energy, in order to develop legislation to govern the sector and consequently to give to those who want to invest a favorable ecosystem at least in terms of safety. How are you doing it Consob (National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange), or the authority delegated to control the Italian financial markets.

The closure of the public consultation

Indeed, in the past few days, in fact, the public consultation which had started on 19 March ended in order to regulate the ICOs at home, the subsequent exchange and negotiation phase of related activities. A consultation which took place at a time when the ICOs seem to be serving some vices of the past, recording one contraction begun by the second half of the 2018 and not yet completed. At the moment, the capital raised with the ICOs in the first quarter of 2019 would amount to about 575 million dollars, while the global capitalization of the cryptocurrency market was estimated by the Bank of Italy in early March 2019 at around 130 billion dollars.

So to try to avoid too high dangers for investors, Consob has therefore prepared a sandbox in derogation from the ordinary regulatory system of financial products which could guarantee a simplified discipline where certain conditions are fulfilled.

As a result of the provisions, not only the platforms, but also the exchanges would be subject to intense supervision, imposing a close link between them and the offer platforms.
Beyond the technical questions that will have to be explored in the immediate future, it should however be noted that the initiative in question seems to start giving an answer to the needs coming from companies born also in our country with the intent to engage in an area considered very promising. A response aimed in particular at regulating those ICOs that in past years have risked derailing the entire sector, precisely because of the opaque or openly fraudulent behavior put in place by some operators.

Kaspersky's guide against scams

Pending an upcoming regulation at European level of the ICO phenomenon, it should be remembered once again as for investors it is however possible to defend oneself against scams o avoid the traps disseminated by some proposals that have the sole purpose of attracting capital to make disappear for the benefit of the subjects involved. The way to do this was indicated by Kaspersky in one guide composed of some very specific points:
1) treating overly tempting offers with suspicion to be real, as "no lunch can be free" when it comes to business;
2) you need before investing in a project consult official sources for information. In the case of ICOs, the source to drink is the White Paper, where data on the proposing company and on the group called to develop the business plan can be found;
3) is needed then verify that the digital wallet to which you are planning investments is not linked to third parties, a task which can be made considerably easier by using sites such as etherscan.io and blockchain.info;
4) finally always check the addresses and data of the hyperlink in the address bar of the browser, to then save the address of your e-wallet in a separate card. Just from there it will be important to log in so as to avoid making typing errors in the address bar that could eventually lead to the site prepared for phishing.