Discover some predictions for the future development of crypto regulations in the coming year

This year has been a little bumpy in terms of global crypto industry regulation. China, for example, has stepped up its enforcement, and India and Russia appear poised to follow suit. Meanwhile, the US has dragged its feet. We will examine the current regulatory landscape and make some predictions for 2022 in this roundup.

ConsenSys, a provider of Ethereum solutions, has released a Q3-report on the crypto ecosystem's regulatory environment. With a heavy emphasis on the United States, the company stated that there had been a "regulatory turf war" between the CTFC and the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).

Gary Gensler, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, stated that the crypto industry can exist only within a public policy framework and not outside of one.

Recapitulating Cryptocurrency Regulations

According to Gensler, not all crypto-assets are secure. However, companies that host and trade certain tokens may be subject to securities laws. As a result, these would require registration with the SEC, which has been extremely slow to approve crypto-related products this year.

It achieved one milestone this year with the approval of the first Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund in October. Analysts believe that Ethereum ETFs will become a reality in 2022. They are, however, sceptical of ETFs that invest directly in digital assets. The SEC does not currently regulate these funds in the United States, despite the fact that a large number of them trade in Canada.

Bill on Infrastructure That Is Controversial

Additionally, one of the more contentious regulatory actions occurred in mid-November with the passage of the Infrastructure bill. The bill was contentious because it included broad terminology pertaining to cryptocurrency companies. The term "broker" was used to refer to software companies, wallet providers, validators, and miners. These would be tax and transaction reporting eligible. Crypto advocates and several senators have been lobbying to amend the legislation's language.

Additionally, central banks around the world continued to express their opposition to decentralised digital assets. Russia and India are still enforcing additional restrictions on cryptocurrency trading, and the United Kingdom is not far behind.

Predictions for the Crypto Ecosystem's Regulation in 2022

ConsenSys anticipates that regulatory trends will continue into 2022, stating that "2021 has already established itself as the most pivotal year in DeFi and crypto regulatory news to date, and we anticipate that trend will continue." However, it is unclear whether they will impose severe penalties on the industry.

Coinbase CEO Alesia Haas, on the other hand, stated that the crypto industry requires tailored rules and regulations. On December 8, she testified before Congress, saying, "Without unique legislative solutions that are openly debated and include public participation, the United States risks unnecessarily onerous and chilling laws and regulations."

Additionally, stablecoins are a significant thorn in the side of regulators, and leading stablecoin issuers will publish comprehensive audits on them.

Central banks will almost certainly continue to exert pressure on the crypto industry to develop their own digital currencies (CBDCs). As a result, it is up to forward-thinking policymakers to create frameworks that foster innovation while also preserving the consumer protections that they appear to value.

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