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Despite growing scrutiny and enforcement in the cryptocurrency space, regulatory uncertainty remains
As the world marks the eleven-year anniversary of the seminal Satoshi Nakamoto white paper, which introduced the world to Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency industry remains a relatively nascent, highly volatile, somewhat untrusted, and uncertain industry. Despite – or to spite – the statements of certain regulatory and law enforcement agencies, virtual currencies do not neatly fit into existing regulatory structures. Depending on the specific circumstances, crypto-assets may be regulated by any of a number of federal agencies within the United States (not to mention the array of state or foreign agencies who might stake a claim to jurisdiction). The process of applying a complex network of laws and rules enforced by different agencies onto these new technologies, products, and services has resulted in an opaque regulatory environment. This in turn yields reluctance to provide investment for much-needed research and development, along with genuine uncertainty as to how to comply with an evolving regulatory landscape.
