The regulatory march of a universe moving from crash to crash is rather slow. In the United States, we are still defining cryptocurrency.
The cryptosphere is experiencing one of the worst corrections in its young history this year. Beyond the heavy losses suffered by investors, the shocks are more systemic, being felt across the entire chain leading to upstream mining.
Above all, the crash once again shined the spotlight on the fragility and shortcomings of an ecosystem subject to all risks. It makes regulation more than necessary, a framework that will notably help to establish confidence in the industry and attract more institutional investors.
Moreover, the crypto universe was delighted this week to see the giant BlackRock ignore its initial resistance to open the way to cryptocurrencies for its institutional customers, starting with bitcoin. The world’s largest investment management firm, with US$10 trillion in assets under administration, has connected its Aladdin technology platform to the Coinbase exchange.
Aladdin’s network has some 55,000 investment professionals claiming assets under management of US$21.6 trillion, or 4% of global assets, writes GlobalBlock Digital Asset Trading.
After having long associated digital currency with fraud and money laundering, BlackRock now understands that its institutional clients are increasingly interested in exposure to the digital asset market and are emphasizing ways effectively manage the operational lifecycle of these assets, continues GlobalBlock. The digital asset brokerage specialist also cites the findings of an EY report indicating that almost a quarter of fund managers plan to increase their exposure to cryptoassets over the next two years.
Small regulatory steps
But the time is still small steps on the regulatory scene in the United States, to the dismay of the judicial authorities. It is only recently that issues related to the cryptosphere have received the full attention of the United States Congress. Digital currency advocates were cheering Wednesday’s tabling of a bipartisan bill proposed by leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The latter, which oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), wants to grant the CFTC “exclusive jurisdiction” over cryptocurrency transactions in accordance with the Commodities Act.
If adopted, digital currency would be defined as a “digital commodity” rather than a security. The CFTC, rather than the Securities and Exchange Commission, would also be given responsibility for supervising transactions and forcing the registration of digital commodities platforms. And this, to the greatest wish of an industry considering that the CFTC is
more favorable.
We are there south of the border, 13 years and three big crashes later, after a dozen frauds and Ponzi schemes and hundreds of billions of dollars evaporated, recalled the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, bitcoin was trading below US$23,000 on Friday, 67% below its November 2021 high. of dollars, is all the same only at the third of its peak of 3000 billion established in November.
Regulation map
The Hello Safe product comparison platform has taken an interest in the legalization of cryptocurrencies in countries around the world. It offers a map, with July 2022 as the latest update. We see that last July, 99 countries (50.8%) authorize the use of cryptocurrencies.
In Canada, transactions via cryptocurrencies are fully authorized. The use of these currencies is legalized in the 27 countries of the European Union. After Europe, America is the second continent with the most countries authorizing cryptocurrencies, with 51.4% of them (18 countries). El Salvador and the Central African Republic are the only two countries in the world to have recognized bitcoin as an official currency.
sums up Hello Safe.