Former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg recently announced hisentrance into the race for the Democratic presidential nominationby spending huge amounts of money to buy ads nationwide. This hardpress across TV, radio, and online media has resulted in remarkablename recognition and interest in his campaign, which will enableBloomberg to join the other leading Democratic contenders on thedebate stage in Las Vegas, Nevada, tonight.

Bloomberg also just released his proposed financial reform policy. The policy covers anumber of reforms that other Democrats' proposals have alreadytouched on to varying degrees, including strengthening the Volcker Rule and the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau (CFPB). More unusual, Bloomberg's proposal alsoincludes new regulations for cryptocurrencies.

"Cryptocurrencies have become an asset class worth hundreds ofbillions of dollars, yet regulatory oversight remains fragmentedand undeveloped," according to Bloomberg's policy statement. "Forall the promise of the blockchain, bitcoin, and initial coin offerings [ICOs], there's alsoplenty of hype, fraud, and criminal activity. Mike will work withregulators to provide clearer rules of the game."

To make cryptocurrency trading and payment processes moretransparent, Bloomberg proposes to establish regulations thatwould:

• Clarify who is responsible for oversight ofcryptocurrencies
• Provide a framework for ICOs by defining when virtual-currencytokens are classified as securities (and when they are not)
• Clarify tax policy on cryptocurrency investments
• Specify capital requirements for financial institutions'cryptocurrency-denominated holdings
• Protect consumers from cryptocurrency-related fraud

Nigel Green, CEO of global financial consultancy deVere Group,emphasizes the importance of Bloomberg's inclusion ofcryptocurrency regulation in his policy proposal. "The staggeringpace of the digitalization of economies … underlines that therewill be—must be—growing demand for digital, global, borderlessmoney," Green says. "Michael Bloomberg is, to date, the onlycandidate to become president of the world's largest economy whohas devised a coherent plan for cryptocurrencies."

Although virtual currencies are still in their infancy, Greenbelieves that "regulation is necessary … [to] providefurther protection for the growing number of people usingcryptocurrencies." The more tightly cryptocurrency markets areregulated, he adds, "the less likely it will be that criminals willuse these digital payment methods, the less potential risk therewill be for the disruption of global financial stability, and themore potential opportunities there will be for higher economicgrowth and activity in those countries which introduce it."