In the corridors of Davos, Cointelegraph had the opportunity to meet Yobie Benjamin , co-founder and CTO emeritus of Token .io with background in the traditional banking sector (Citigroup).

In five minutes, Benjamin shared his thoughts on regulation, ICO's peddlers and the potential of Blockchain

Cointelegraph: We are here with Yobie Benjamin. Could you introduce yourself to our audience and tell them what you are doing right now?

Yobie Benjamin: Hello, I'm calling Yobie Benjamin and I am the current Director of Emeritus Technology. from Token.io, which is a distributed book company that is built to support the banking sector. And if there is a very simple way to explain it, it is a much more modern version of SWIFT, which is the global banking system in which money is moved.

CT: You have a different view on government regulations from what I understand. Could you talk a bit about it?

YB : I am, believe it or not, quite a fan of government regulations. In the past, I was the former global CEO of Citigroup, I am currently sitting on the Federal Reserve's Fast Pay Working Group. My point of view on regulation is that regulation is good and that regulation legitimizes a business. So, I'm not a big fan of a uber-libertarian movement, which says that regulation is bad and we do not need it, and that the world will be perfect without any regulation.

CT: Cryptocurrences are expected by some to disrupt the system and take it all to make something new. . Davos is not like that. And you see Blockchain everywhere in Davos. Why do you think that's it?

YB : Interestingly enough, it's the first year in Davos that we've seen so many Blockchain companies. The World Economic Forum itself, if you look at the official program, probably has about two hours of Blockchain programming. The issues that concern the World Economic Forum are much more diverse and much deeper than Blockchain itself. Blockchain is an important technology, clearly, probably, one of the most important technologies. But Blockchain also, basically, as I said, gave birth to many great technologies but also to many peddlers. And I think that's a common knowledge in this industry, we see Blockchain companies, you know, selling things like, unfortunately, things like prostitution. Or other types of things that are not really part of a global system and should not be part of the overall system.

I think Blockchain does a lot in terms of global trade, trade finance, doing things that do not require high-speed trading or high-frequency trading. But there are many things you can do in Blockchain. Municipal governments, title deeds, you know, municipal fines – all kinds of documents can be put in a Blockchain. But not everything fits the Blockchain. When I was Citibank's global technical director, we made between three and nine billion dollars worth of transactions a day. And as you know, the Blockchain itself in its entirety, considering all the crypto of Bitcoin and Ethereum, does not even come close to a trillion dollars a day.

CT: How do people look at a legitimate business or should ICO think through their investments, coming from your point of view? How do you spot the peddler?

YB : Look, here's what I see about ICOs, is not it? At present, an ICO arrives, someone has a great idea and suddenly engages two developers, four developers, they write on the ERC20 protocol and they have an ICO. Essentially bypass what it has been a long formal process of an initial public offering. In many ways, it's fine. Because it expands access to capital. However, this does not give an excuse to start offering things to the market, this border being silly, if not criminal.

I think if you are looking for an ICO and you think you want to invest in an ICO look at the team, it's a fairly standard advice. But look, if they are open to registration. Many companies make ICOs, who are not afraid of the registration process. Many businesses are not afraid of regulation. And put yourself completely in front of the regulators and make themselves available to questions, make themselves available for criticism just like any other IPO process. Personally, I like ACIs. But! Since there are probably thousands, if not tens of thousands of ICOs, who are coming, it is a buyer who is wary of the market. That's all I could say for that!