To regulate the unregulated: what regulatory changes are crypto assets undergoing?
Crypto assets are considered as unregulated but are still one of the most used and most rapidly growing investment tools, as approximately 38 million people around the EU have invested in cryptocurrency. Today not only some privately-owned businesses choose to accept cryptocurrency payments, the government of Ukraine has already received more than $70 million in cryptocurrency in support of the army.
Even though the main idea behind the creation of cryptocurrencies was to provide a decentralized and independent system, the growing market and increased demand for cryptocurrency has made governments interested in regulating this particular type of assets.
It may be apparent to some, but others have questioned the intent to regulate cryptocurrencies. From a governmental perspective, there are several reasons for regulating this market, some examples are listed below:
- cryptocurrency crime and tax evasion prevention
- fighting against the laundering of money gained through fraudulent means and/or the financing of terrorism
- consumer protection
- financial stability
In this article, Erik Ålander, Linus Larsén and Kateryna Pashkova take a look at the legislative approaches to regulate crypto assets in Ukraine, the EU and Sweden. Ukraine has been at the forefront with new comprehensive laws already in place, whereas the EU is planning for a large legislative package. In the meantime, Sweden have taken certain measures to increase regulation of crypto assets as well.