Winklevoss-backed Virtual Commodity Association aspires to become self-regulatory organisation for the cryptocurrency industry

Winklevoss-backed Virtual Commodity Association is planning to become a self-regulatory organization for the cryptocurrency industry, according to a Medium post. It hopes to operate similarly to other financial regulators like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the National Futures Association.

The non-profit was set up last year. It gathers cryptocurrency exchanges—Gemini, bitFlyer, Bittrex, and Bitstamp—and will be governed by a Board of Directors.

It has set up six committees to prepare a framework that would include industry-wide best practices and could potentially become the regulatory framer in the future.

VCA is working on issues including Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering and know your customer procedures, custody and security, regulatory framework enforcement, insurance standards, market integrity, and taxes.

“These committees directly address the concerns of regulators that are trying to figure out the crypto space,” VCA President Yusuf Hussain told Coindesk. Hussain believes the VCA would be able to “facilitate cross-market information sharing” while minimising market manipulation.

According to Hussain, the organisation is “in conversation with supportive regulatory bodies.” The VCA is not planning to be a replacement for existing regulatory bodies, Hussain explained, but instead, it hopes to be “a supplement” to them.