The regulatory scene being created in China will set a pace for crypto enthusiasts in the top Asian economy to grow interest and participate in more crowdsales – or Initial Coin Offering – in the coming years.

Six blockchain industry research institutions in China this week partnered to release the Guiyang Blockchain ICO Consensus protocol and the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the blockchain-based investing trend would likely face increased scrutiny especially in the US.

While the protocol seeks to manage and control financial risks associated with ICOs in China thus initiating some form of best practices, the SEC’s announcement seems to confirm the pending global shift of attention to China as the place to be for ICOs.

According to China Money Network, there are 43 platforms providing ICO services in China which have raised about RMB2.6 billion (US$420 million) so far from 105,000 people with the majority coming from three Chinese cities: Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing. Data from the China Internet Security Technology Commission also show that Bitcoin and Ethereum account for 90% of all fundraising in China.

Opportunity to grow

This presents a good investment opportunity for blockchain-based projects to grow in China. Though the Chinese have been fully involved in the major aspects of the global digital currency evolution, an increase in ICO-related activities as a new trend brought about by the growing number of startups which have ideas but need funds to execute such written concepts will push China’s ranking higher in this regard.

ICOs present new startups with the opportunity to sell ideas to interested investors based on trust – trust for the team, for the product, for their advisors, technology etc. Some ICOs have failed in the past as we have seen in some cases and many people lost money. The Chinese are trying to build the trust base to take advantage of the new and disruptive funding model that is set to mature into a perfected stage of effectiveness and increased value.

The Chinese market has grown considerably despite the government’s strong stance on digital currencies regarding the protection of the country’s economy and the citizens’ interest. With the country now waking up to the new ICO trend, it will open up new avenues for a wild competition to erupt.

What’s to come

Not many ICOs have been launched from China compared to what is obtainable on the other side of the world.

They are usually initiated in the West and taken to China with several appealing factors to get the Chinese market to buy into them. These projects which cater for multiple emerging markets of Europe and Asian countries may have recorded whatever success they had due to their incorporation of interests that appeal especially to the growing number of crypto-enthusiasts in China.

However, this is now changing. The Chinese are now also coming up with some incredibly disruptive and transformative projects that need ICOs. Indigenous initiatives are now being introduced to tap into the opportunities created by this method of funding to churn out major projects like Bytom which seeks to be an interactive protocol of multiple byteassets.

With this development, the Chinese interest in non-Chinese projects would not be sustained for too long henceforth if the regulatory system in the other parts of the world is not checked. Rather, what could happen is that more Western-based startups and entrepreneurs will move or co-opt Chinese counterparts to create a working arrangement that would give their joint initiatives the needed edge while parting with some controlling power.