Investor reactions to crypto token regulation

Despite calls for regulation in the crypto utility token market, it is unclear how crypto tokeninvestors value current regulatory proposals. We find that on average, investors react negatively to news thatincreases the likelihood of securities and transparency-related regulation. We also find that this negativereaction is attenuated for tokens rated higher on quality and transparency by intermediaries, those thathave higher levels of disclosure, and listed on more liquid exchanges. The observed variation in tokentransparency and this muted reaction suggest investors perceive disclosure costs to be lower for tokens inmore transparent environments, suggesting that transparency matters to investors.