ICO News: McAfee Says China Will Legalize ICOs

Most of the top 10 cryptocurrency prices were trading in the red today, but that’s nothing they haven’t climbed out of before. Much of the volatility, at least lately, has been in response to China’s pushback on the hottest trend of 2017 – ICOs – even as the rest of the world lets them trade, causing investors to ask when they’ll hear about the next upcoming ICO in China.

John Mcafee, of McAfee anti-virus software fame, shared his response to the China ICO and cryptocurrency exchange roadblocks with Bloomberg. These days McAfee, who is a big bitcoin believer, is at the helm of cybersecurity company MGT Capital, which reportedly has begun to mine Ethereum.  

He describes the environment in China, where any CEO of a cryptocurrency exchange has been told in no uncertain terms that they can’t leave the country. A ban on trading is one thing, but a ban on travel is something else entirely.

“The rest of the world is in chaos of course because no one knows what’s coming next,” says  McAfee, adding that any ban on mining would be highly disruptive not only to the Chinese economy but also to the world.

As someone who is reportedly engaged with cryptocurrency mining, McAfee points out the tens of thousands of mining machines that are churning out coins without stop, adding that those coins remain in China, so he thinks regulators will stop short of putting the kibosh on mining.

In the end, he believes that cooler heads will prevail and that the Chinese government will legalize ICOs with certain restraints, which is necessary given that so many people have taken advantage of the system in the country.

For instance, some China-based ICOs have given investors the impression they can earn 1,000% return in a week’s time. Meanwhile retirees have been known to direct their savings into these deals, so regulators couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

Legislation won’t be a panacea, and McAfee is expecting a see-saw effect where rules will be written and those who want to will find a way to circumvent them. In the end, McAfee says, the government can’t find a decentralized peer-to-peer marketplace. They’ll lose every time.

I suspect there will once again be upcoming ICOs in China.