Leading blockchain venture fund Blockchain Coinvestors has recently unveiled its bi-annual Digital Asset Regulation Report, which tracks the state of digital asset regulator progress among the world’s top 25 financial centres.
Key financial centres are now focused on upgrading to digital finance – with most of the leading financial centres passing pro-innovation regulations for digital monies, commodities and assets.
“Following a host of crypto spot-ETF approvals earlier this year, the world got a taste of the massive demand for digital assets,” says Christopher Nelson, Head of Digital Asset Research at Blockchain Coinvestors. “This is putting the onus squarely on regulators and politicians to meet the demands of a growing digital native electorate – who expect the financial ecosystem to be digital and who now comprise around 50% of global voters.”
Blockchain regulation is maturing quickly in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Europe’s comprehensive Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) framework will be fully live in December 2024, with France and Spain on the path of joining, while the UK and Switzerland are working on additional stablecoin regulations.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority regulatory regime is in full effect, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has issued preliminary guidelines for won-pegged stablecoins and the UAE has created a framework for decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs).
While stablecoins are top of mind for regulators worldwide, countries in emerging markets continue to embrace stablecoins to expand US dollar access and combat currency instability. BRICS nations began discussing non-US pegged stablecoins as a tool for de-dollarisation.
However, US regulators have approved a family of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot-ETFs this year, as well as taking the first steps in repealing capital requirements and introducing early stablecoin frameworks.
“We know that the majority of US elected representatives are now listening to their constituencies who want pro-innovation legislation,” says Matthew Le Merle, Managing Partner of Blockchain Coinvestors. “More than 70% of Americans are unhappy with traditional finance and more than 50% of them are digital natives who favour crypto – they are the future, and they expect their elected representatives to represent them.”
Pressure will mount on newly elected US leadership to get up to speed with more advanced global jurisdictions, and digital asset regulation will continue to be a non-partisan issue as innovation and jobs head offshore.
Read the full report here.
Source: Blockchain Coinvestors
