Leading digital asset firms launch Crypto Market Integrity Coalition, committing to a safe and sensibly-regulated crypto industry

NEW YORK — February 7, 2021 — In a unified voice, leaders in the digital asset industry announced today the launch of the Crypto Market Integrity Coalition (“CMIC”), an industry-defining pledge focused on cultivating a fair digital asset marketplace to combat market abuse and manipulation and promote public and regulatory confidence in the new asset class.

The group is currently inviting all industry members committed to advancing market integrity to join the coalition. Through the pledge, the coalition seeks to send an unequivocal message at this critical moment in the evolution of digital assets: The crypto industry has made enormous strides to improve market integrity in the past few years; At the same time, crypto firms are keenly aware of the concerns that still need to be addressed, and are committed to engaging with regulators to advance solutions to crypto’s unique challenges.

Founding Coalition Members include:

• Solidus Labs, which initiated CMIC, is a leading crypto-native risk management firm and category-definer for crypto trade surveillance technology.
• Circle Internet Financial LLC is a global internet finance firm that provides
  internet-based payments and financial infrastructure to businesses of all sizes, and is the principal operator of USD Coin.
• GSR, a leading global cryptocurrency market maker and ecosystem partner integrated with 60 crypto trading venues and facilitating more than $4 billion in daily trading volume.
• Huobi Tech is a financial technology holding company driven by blockchain technology and strategic investment portfolio. Apart from being the first licensed manager by HKSFC for active managed virtual asset fund, Huobi Tech provides comprehensive digital assets service including custody, trading and brokerage service for professional investors and institutions.
• Anchorage Digital, The premier digital asset platform for institutions, and the first crypto-native company to receive a federal banking charter.
• CrossTower, a digital assets capital markets firm founded by financial industry veterans on a mission to bring digital asset trading and investing to institutional and professional traders.
• BitMex, founded in 2014, is one of the world's leading cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges with a fully verified user base and the creator of the Perpetual Swap.
• Bitstamp, the world’s longest-running cryptocurrency exchange, with a proven track record and mature approach to the industry, Bitstamp provides a secure and transparent venue to over four million customers.
• Securrency, a blockchain-based financial markets infrastructure company providing state-of-the-art digital assets technology bridging legacy financial systems to automated DeFi innovation with an underlying institutional-grade core global compliance framework.
• Elwood Technologies delivers market access and institutional-grade reconciliation to investors and financial services providers seeking to become a part of the exciting world of digital assets.
• CryptoCompare is an FCA-authorised and regulated global leader in digital asset data, providing institutional and retail investors with high-quality real-time and historical data, as well as industry-leading research reports and analytics.
• MV Index Solutions is a leading index provider in digital asset indexes and is registered as a benchmark administrator under the European Benchmarks Regulation since July 2019.
  ● Global Digital Finance (GDF) is the leading global members association advocating & accelerating the adoption of best practices and codes of conduct for the global crypto and digital assets sector.
• The Chamber of Digital Commerce, the digital asset industry’s longest established trade association, promoting the acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies.
• CryptoUK, the UK’s trade association representing more than 100 cryptoasset and blockchain businesses, and Secretariat of the UK Crypto and Digital Asset All Party Parliamentary Group.

“The public and regulators have made their concerns clear, and the pledge’s initial goal is to bring unity and action at an industry level, across CeFi, DeFi and all digital assets,” says Asaf Meir, Co-founder and Chief Executive of Solidus Labs which initiated CMIC and specializes in detecting and preventing crypto market abuse. “Crypto is in a very different place than it was three or four years ago—there are crypto firms today with more robust and technologically advanced risk and compliance programs than traditional institutions,” Meir added, “we want to convey that to the public, as well as our deep commitment to addressing current and future challenges - as new forms of risk and manipulation continue to arise and evolve."

The market integrity pledge introduced by the coalition is focused on a commitment to continuously strive towards higher standards of market integrity, risk monitoring, consumer protection and compliance, in order to maintain fair and orderly digital asset markets and prevent market abuse. The pledge identifies key forms of market manipulation and provides transparency into the kinds of abusive trading behaviors the signatories are striving to root out of markets, to enable a safe and fair environment.

CMIC will continue to engage with more leaders in the digital asset community to
encourage more firms to take the pledge and demonstrate commitment to market
integrity. Over time, the coalition will take further steps, including advancing training programs, sharing insights and research, dialoguing with regulators, and considering data-sharing and shared-surveillance frameworks that can address crypto and decentralized finance’s unique cross-market supervision challenges.

“From NFTs to DApps to stablecoins, blockchain-based technologies are the foundation of a new digital economy that is revolutionizing the global financial system and beyond,” said Bitstamp USA CEO Bobby Zagotta. “The Crypto Market Integrity Coalition is well positioned to bridge the gap between traditional financial and crypto marketplaces by harnessing the world's foremost experts and innovators in our industry to address market integrity. The coalition's goals align perfectly with Bitstamp's decade-long commitment to institutional grade technology and security, reliable human-powered customer service, and a regulated and compliance-forward exchange that welcomes traders of a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.”

For more information on CMIC and to sign the pledge, please visit:
www.cryptomarketintegrity.com
Media Contact
Trevor Davis, Gregory FCA for CMIC
P: 443-248-0359
E: trevor@gregoryfca.com