Numerous cryptocurrency exchange and advocacy groups in different countries have come together to form an alliance aimed at combating market manipulation.
On Monday, Solidus Labs and stock exchanges including Bitstamp, Coinbase, BitMEX and CrossTower announced that they are launching the Crypto Market Integrity Coalition, or CMIC, and are asking all other companies involved in the crypto area to follow suit. According to the CMIC, members must commit to encouraging “a fair market for digital assets to combat abuse and market manipulation, and to increase public and regulatory confidence” in cryptocurrencies.
The 17 founders of the group include the US pro-cryptocurrency group The Chamber of Digital Commerce, the British self-regulatory trading organization CryptoUK and the global think tank Global Digital Finance. Also in the alliance is the crypto data provider CryptoCompare, Anchorage Digital, the first crypto company to receive a charter from the US Federal Reserve’s regulator, and Circle, the company behind USDC stablecoin.
CMIC’s commitment includes a commitment to “maintain fair and orderly digital asset markets and prevent market abuse.” The group said that it plans to eventually share its own crypto research, as well as enter into dialogue with regulators and consider a framework for data sharing and collaboration monitoring.
“Agreeing on a large-scale global approach to digital assets and competition in the space race of digital currencies can improve US competitiveness and security and lower the core costs of basic access to finance,” said Danle Dispart, Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer and Global Policy Leader. “CMIC Commitment brings together leading industry players to promote market integrity standards.”
According to the CMIC website, the obligation requires members to accept the following:
“Regardless of regulatory requirements, market activity must be analyzed and monitored on a reasonably ongoing basis to detect and eliminate market manipulation and unfair market abuse. “Clear cases of fraud and tampering are illegal and we are committed to preventing such activities to the best of our ability.”
Related: Binance rejects allegations of market manipulation
Cryptocurrency companies and industry leaders have formed other groups that want to meet the challenges posed by mass adoption and among regulators. In September 2020, Square – now Block – formed a consortium that aims to combine cryptocurrency and blockchain-related patents “to protect against patent infringers and trolls”. In February 2021, Chainlink, Aave, Messari and others formed the GoodFi alliance to focus on promoting decentralized financial education and research.
