Step aside “bitcoin” traders. We now have “OilCoin” entering the economic world.
And it’s perfectly legal, according to Commissioner Bart Chilton of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He led the project and made the announcement Monday of the creation of the first legally-compliant digital currency based upon a physical asset.
OilCoin will tokenize barrels of oil held in reserve with each token representing the value of one barrel. The public token sale will begin in early 2018.
Chilton explained that the OilCoin currency will comply with U.S. laws and regulation and be suitable for global institutional and retail users. Chilton, according to the announcement has been an active voice in the cryptocurrency and blockchain community for years and was the first U.S. government official to call for regulation of digital currencies.
He recently delivered a keynote speech at Hong Kong FinTech Week and explained OilCoin represents his desire to see the creation of a regulated digital currency based upon “something real that folks can touch and feel.”
Another U.S. representative leading OilCoin’s push to become the first digital currency is Joseph Cisewski, a former COO and Chief of Staff for the U.S. CFTC and Branch Chief Division of Trading and Markets at the SEC.
“We believe the OilCoin ICO represents a unique risk/return opportunity that should have great appeal to U.S. and global investors seeking a highly experienced management team, a clearly defined and executable strategy, and a ‘picks and shovels’ way to participate in the hyperbolic growth of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-enabled applications,” said OilCoin co-founder Darius Brooks, formerly with TPG, a leading private equity firm.