The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has created a Blockchain Working Group to examine how technology and cryptocurrencies will impact their purposes.
The commission’s chief technology officer, Neil Chilson, said in a blog post Friday:
“We believe this working group is an important step forward to ensure the FTC continues its mission to protect consumers and support competition in light of cryptocurrency and Blockchain developments.”
The group aims to build FTC staff expertise in cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology by sharing resources and hosting external experts on the subject. They will also strive to improve the coordination and communication of enforcement actions both internally and externally.
The US Federal Trade Commission previously filed a litigation
The group’s initiation process was recently announced by the FTC. came. The FTC announced that it has filed lawsuits against the Bitcoin Financing Team and four individuals involved in the operations. A lawsuit has been filed against My7Network and Jetcoin, which allegedly used Bitcoin in fake chain referral schemes.
Chilson’s blog post continues:
It’s no surprise that they can use cryptocurrencies in their scams. As the primary federal general consumer protection agency, the FTC had seen this model before. Fraudsters often try to capitalize on the excitement and confusion about new technologies.. They can easily put new technologies and innovations on top of old schemes.”
The FTC first filed a cryptocurrency-related lawsuit in 2015.. This lawsuit was against an application containing malware for mining cryptocurrencies. A public meeting on Blockchain technology was held in 2017.
In February, the commission published a blog post outlining the risks associated with cryptocurrency investments for consumers. The FTC is not the first government agency to create a Blockchain working group.
The State Department launched a similar initiative in January 2017. In addition, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which assesses risks to the financial system, announced in January this year that it has set up a working group focused on cryptocurrency.
Coindesk