The United States government and other administrations around the world have begun cracking down on crypto exchanges. Exchanges and blockchain providers are now feeling the pressure of abiding by regulations and being more transparent in their transactions.
“We recommend that agencies continue to rigorously pursue their enforcement efforts focused on the crypto-asset sector. Agencies should use existing authorities to issue additional supervisory guidance and rules to address current and emerging risks,” Janet Yellen, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, said during a White House press conference last September 15.
Unlike other exchanges scrambling to become regulatory compliant, global crypto exchange BlockQuake is composed of a team who has extensive financial regulation experience. This makes the exchange confident in its ability to lend a hand to enterprises in raising their capital on-chain while still abiding by the strict rules and regulations being enforced. Blockquote, which was launched in July 2021, supports a wide range of fiat currencies and digital assets, including BSV.
Helping Enterprises Raise Capital
Blockquote sees blockchain as a tool for financially empowering both businesses and consumers, which is why the company opted to execute its current fundraising round on the BSV blockchain with a utility token called QuakeCoin that offers its owners zero-fee trading. Raising money on-chain is consistent with the BSV blockchain philosophy rooted in transparency and direct sending of payments. Businesses typically see the fruits of their labor far sooner than traditional organizations because they eliminate intermediaries and barriers to access. Most fundraising rounds take six months to 1.5 years to complete, but blockchain-based fundraising typically begins and ends in the same week.
Being a former trader himself, BlockQuake CEO and Founder Antonio Brasse knows the industry’s pain points like the back of his hand and is creating a platform to address them. “Startups have to give up a certain level of control of their company and aspects of their vision that would be beneficial to the masses,” Brasse explained. Another way on-chain funding edges traditional methods of getting a business off the ground is by building a community. People who own coins and tokens typically function as apostles for the blockchain-based entity they support. A strong community will help the company with product awareness, new user acquisition, and grassroots marketing.
Blockquote will initially offer users common trading products. Brasse also plans to introduce more complex capabilities soon, including options and futures, leveraged trading, and so on. He even intends to examine managing and staking mining pools because the company has always had the vision of “creating waves or seismic shifts” in the sector. Currently, the company is laser-focused on extending its banking connections and developing Broker-Dealer and Alternative Trading System entities, which Brasse believes will transform BlockQuake’s crypto exchange into a global financial hub, providing its customers with a multitude of fiat and crypto options.
Earning Customer Confidence by Eliminating Regulatory Oversight
CoinGeek’s Patrick Thompson recently spoke with Brasse and BlockQuake Advisor and Co-Founder Chad Anderson about what it is like to run a regulated exchange and why consumer protection is at the top of their priority list. Anderson started the conversation by highlighting the significance of regulatory compliance to BlockQuake’s operations, as shown by the company’s registration with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Indeed, digital asset exchanges have had a rocky history, with former BTC derivatives exchange CEO Arthur Hayes sentenced to two years on probation. Hayes pled guilty to allowing American consumers to use BitMEX to skirt anti-money laundering rules.
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z2DRm94rYo4″ title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>
Brasse is doing all in his power to avoid a similar fate. Blockquote, which is based in New York, is in the process of securing a BitLicense, which is perhaps the most difficult license to get for a digital asset firm. He argues that if exchanges were required to go through such a process for every digital token they publish, catastrophes like the UST algorithmic stablecoin would not have been listed on most of them. This prompted Brasse to call for more clarity in defining the adherence level to new and existing regulations required for each type of exchange operation. Thompson then takes up the issue, wondering how the UST/LUNA crash affects the exchanges involved.
According to Brasse, if the exchanges are market makers, it could lead to financial troubles to bankruptcy. If they are not, like BlockQuake, they can still honor trades even during black swan events, referring to situations causing catastrophic damage to investments and markets. Despite the ambiguity of digital asset regulations, Brasse believes that this is only the beginning of digital asset adoption. “You’ll see more people taking control of their money over the next five years and beyond and being more involved in trying to make better yields and take more ownership of their decisions,” Brasse concluded.
With a steadily growing market, being regulatory compliant is a necessity for all exchanges aiming for longevity in the trade. The next years will see cryptocurrencies, exchanges, and blockchain providers withstand the test of stricter regulations and crackdowns.
