A group of firms led by the Winklevoss Twins' Gemini Trust Company are banding together to form a self-regulatory organisation for the cryptocurrency industry.
Gemini, Bitstamp, BitFlyer USA and Bittrex have set up a working group for their new Virtual Commodity Association, which will meet for the first time next month to discuss guidelines for best practice.
Maria Filipakis, a former executive deputy superintendent at the New York Department of Financial Services who helped draft the regulator's virtual currency rules, has been tapped to act as interim executive director of the new group.
Says Filipakis: "I applaud the VCA and its members in their commitment to strengthen the digital asset industry's regulatory landscape, rules for the protection of customers, and bring forth industry setting best practices and market transparency."
The move has been welcomed by CFTC commissioner Brian Quintez, who has previously called for the creation of a self-regulatory organisation because of the "absence of federal oversight jurisdiction in the crypto market".
Says Quintez: "Ultimately, an independent and empowered SRO-like entity could have a meaningful impact on the integrity and credibility of this young marketplace. Today’s announcement is a positive step towards that realisation."