According to Friedman, initial coin offerings (ICOs) should be subjected to securities laws, an argument that has been heard from Jay Clayton, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a result, the agency has issued several subpoenas to companies in order to determine how ICOs are presented to potential customers. The agency has also warned of pump-and-dump schemes involving them.
Interestingly, these comments from Friedman come at a time when the CEO said earlier this week that the stock exchange would be open to becoming a cryptocurrency exchange once the industry has matured. In an interview with CNBC, she said: ‘I believe that digital currencies will continue to persist it’s just a matter of how long it will take for that space to mature.’ Nasdaq is also teaming up with Gemini, the digital currency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, to use its SMARTS technology to monitor trading manipulation.
However, while the Bank of America claimed in its annual filing in February, to the SEC, that the cryptocurrency market is a risk to its business, its competitors have been showing increasing interest in the industry. Earlier this week, it was reported that Goldman Sachs had made its first hire in its cryptocurrency markets unit, signalling its seriousness in helping clients to invest in digital currencies.