Regulation is coming for crypto. After more than a decade when cryptocurrencies and related technologies have surged, boomed, and busted in a regulatory vacuum, lawmakers in both the US and Europe are writing new rules for a sector that has grown dangerously large in both value and reach, touching $2.9 trillion at its peak in November 2021. The ongoing crash on crypto markets has only strengthened rule-makers’ resolve. On Thursday, EU institutions announced an agreement on two landmark pieces of regulation: the Market in Crypto-Asset Act (aka MiCA), regulating most providers of cryptocurrency services, and an anti-money-laundering package imposing robust checks on cryptocurrency transfers. In the US, several proposals have been put forward over the past few months. One notable example is the wide-ranging bipartisan bill sponsored by Republican senator Cynthia Lummis and Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand, which the crypto industry has saluted as beneficial, while others have condemned it as a capitulation to the crypto lobby’s requests. On the other end of the spectrum is Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, a fierce crypto critic who sponsored a bill calling for robust checks on cryptocurrency transactions in order to stop the evasion of sanctions against Russia.
Full story : Crypto’s Free Rein May Be Coming to a Close.
