Correctly define the intrinsic relationship between Bitcoin, ICO and blockchain

To this day, the world is still debating the connotations and relationships between Bitcoin, ICO and blockchain, and there is no consensus on regulatory attitudes and methods. There are basically two opposing ideologies in the world. Some people believe that Bitcoin and ICO are just "devils" disguised as new blockchain technology for the purpose of making money, and they advocate a resolute, thorough and comprehensive ban; others believe that they are an effective carrier for enriching blockchain's financial connotations and showing the new charm of modern finance, and they suggest relaxing regulations and letting them enter the world's formal financial stage.

It is no wonder that people all over the world still have difficulty distinguishing the relationship between Bitcoin, ICO and blockchain, because the three are closely connected and follow each other. As the saying goes, right and wrong are reflected, light and darkness are mixed, investment and traps are intertwined, making it difficult for the world to distinguish the truth from the false, and many people lose their way in the mysterious and blind "following" and fall into investment traps. In particular, many institutions or individuals with ulterior motives use Bitcoin and ICO as "pawns" under the guise of blockchain. For example, the token issuance and financing that appeared in my country last year is essentially an act of illegal public financing without approval, suspected of illegal sale of token tickets, illegal issuance of securities, illegal fundraising, financial fraud, pyramid schemes and other illegal and criminal activities; at the same time, the price of Bitcoin was blindly praised by investors and artificially "manipulated" by some investment institutions, causing its price to break through the high of 20,000 US dollars at the end of last year, which shocked the world. And most of these were given the name of new blockchain technology, which deceived the minds of many investors. Obviously, the new blockchain technology represented by digital currency has also been blamed and incurred a bad reputation.

At present, governments around the world have different regulatory attitudes towards Bitcoin and ICO tokens, and the regulatory policies vary in tightness, which means that virtual digital currencies still have a large space for survival, and their impact on the world cannot be underestimated. Recently, some experts and scholars have written an article on FT Chinese website titled "Bitcoin and the "Clash of New Civilizations"", saying that the essence of Bitcoin and ICO has surpassed technological innovation, and some people with ulterior motives have regarded Bitcoin, ICO and blockchain as "tools" to impact the old order of traditional social civilization, and regarded them as "blockbuster bombs" to subvert traditional social civilization and eliminate the constraints of traditional social rule of law and financial control; in particular, they divide participants in Bitcoin discussions and investors into four types: fanatical followers, innovative brokers, global investors and speculators, and global capital players, and say that these people are trying to completely break the rule of the "old world" through Bitcoin and ICO tokens, and call these people's attempts to decentralize the future world currency an "aggression" theory, believing that they are at best "evil-minded people" in the guise of "blockchain" cutting-edge technology. I don't agree with all the author's views. Although some of them make sense, such as trying to influence the blockchain through Bitcoin, attracting the attention of global digital currencies to virtual digital currencies, and ultimately subverting some improper constraints or regulations of traditional currencies, this should be their biggest goal, and there is no need to make a fuss. However, Bitcoin and token ICOs that attempt to impact the traditional financial order and use them as a profit-making tool for illegal financing should indeed be severely "encircled and suppressed." Even so, it cannot be used to completely deny the role of Bitcoin and token ICOs and their broad social adaptability. Otherwise, it would be subjective and unfair.

In my opinion, the original intention of anything is not always to be a tool for "making money and killing people". On the contrary, normal financial tools will not be absolutely not used illegally. Bitcoin and token ICO, as the epitome of emerging financial formats or virtual digital currencies, also have their two sides. They cannot be banned completely just because they have problems. The correct attitude towards Bitcoin, token ICO and blockchain at present is that the world should strengthen contact and communication, establish a global regulatory framework, and the monetary authorities of various countries should vigorously develop virtual digital currencies with the help of blockchain technology, create conditions for the global promotion of virtual digital currencies through block edge technology, and guide them to a healthy operating track. At the same time, Bitcoin and token ICO are not a scourge of human social development. Their existence and role are releasing their reasonable social needs. Bitcoin has rebounded comprehensively after a short plunge, indicating that social demand is strong. Therefore, governments can give full play to its positive and effective financing function and develop it into an effective financing tool for world investment and attracting private funds. In addition, we should increase social publicity efforts, improve the information transparency of Bitcoin and token ICO, enhance the risk prevention awareness of all people in the world, and reduce investment blindness; let Bitcoin and token ICO return to their original appearance, let blockchain be blockchain, prevent mutual confusion or deliberate excuses to beautify Bitcoin and token ICO as blockchain for illegal fundraising or money-making, accurately define the boundaries between each other, make the ownership of Bitcoin, ICO and blockchain clear and complete the functions, and jointly promote the forward development of virtual digital currency for real benefit of mankind.

(The author, Mo Kaiwei, is a researcher at the Financial and Legal Research Institute of the China Non-Performing Assets Industry Alliance)