Across cryptocurrency forums and blogs, the word of the month is “capitulation”. With bitcoin below $5,000 for the first time since October 2017, leading figures in the community have turned on each other in a spiral of finger pointing, while crypto-enthusiasts are at war with detractors who see this as a victory for fiat currencies. While this may not be the end for bitcoin and company, the crash underlines the question of whether it is worth trying to bring cryptocurrencies into the mainstream at all.
在各个加密货币论坛和博客上，本月关键词是“投降”。随着比特币自2017年10月以来首次跌破5000美元，业界领军人物开始越来越激烈地相互指责，而加密货币的爱好者则与批评者开战，后者认为这是法定货币的胜利。尽管比特币和比特币公司也许不会就此终结，但比特币的崩溃凸显一个问题：努力把加密货币引入主流到底是否值得。
There are plenty of reasons to view cryptocurrencies with concern, including immense volatility (bitcoin has lost 30 per cent of its value over the week), fraud and manipulation, the fact that a number of initial coin offerings have turned out to be scams, and their use by money launderers and terrorists. But, as is endemic in the technology industry, regulation has struggled to keep pace. Proposed “self-regulation” has, unsurprisingly, been lacking: the Winklevoss twins’ Virtual Commodity Association, formed in August to provide “an industry-sponsored, self-regulatory organisation”, has been quiet even as crypto has collapsed.
有很多理由让我们对加密货币感到担忧，包括巨大的波动（比特币的价值在一周内蒸发掉30%），欺诈和操纵，许多首次代币发行(ICO)被证实为骗局，以及它被洗钱者和恐怖分子利用。但是，监管一直难以跟上步伐，这正是科技行业的通病。不足为奇的是，拟议中的“自我监管”一直不到位：温克莱沃斯(Winklevoss)孪生兄弟的虚拟商品协会(Virtual Commodity Association)在8月份成立，旨在提供“一个行业自发的自我监管组织”，尽管加密货币已崩溃，但该协会一直保持沉默。
Authorities have been more proactive. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is mooting a ban on cryptocurrency derivatives, while a UK Commons select committee has decried crypto-asset markets as the “ Wild West”, and called for regulation. Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission this month said it was examining plans to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges. In September, a report from the New York attorney-general’s office called out the industry for conflicts of interest and insufficient protection from market manipulation.
政府部门表现更加积极主动。英国金融市场行为监管局(FCA)正在讨论一项针对加密货币衍生品的禁令，而英国下议院(Commons)的一个特别委员会则谴责加密资产市场是“蛮荒西部”，呼吁对其进行监管。香港证监会(SFC)本月表示，正在研究监管加密货币交易所的计划。今年9月，纽约州总检察长办公室的一份报告称，该行业存在利益冲突，而且没有采取防范市场操纵的充分措施。
