China’s ICO ban makes more sense in light of its history with fintech
Originally @ TechCrunch In today’s neverending world of blockchain news, much press has been given over the last week to the recent Chinese regulatory response banning ICO’s. On Monday, the People’s Bank of China announced that it was implementing a freeze on fundraising through ICO’s on Chinese exchanges. ( Here is the original announcement, for Mandarin speakers.) The move by China’s central bank, which is roughly equivalent to the Fed in the US, looks at first blush to be a blunt response to a nuanced issue. However, given the specific context of finance and fintech in China, the regulatory ban may be more reasonable - and unsurprising - than it would appear. Many in the US have chided the PBOC for its apparent overreaction. AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant called the policy a “huge gift to Silicon Valley and its resident financiers.” VC Fred Wilson penned a thoughtful post comparing China’s approach to that of the SEC in the US, opining that “We needed a cooling off