In this podcast, Blockchain Journal editor-in-chief David Berlind interviews Tanya-Elisa (Vasilyeva) Baseley, a regulatory attorney based in Europe. Baseley discusses her work in navigating the complex regulatory landscape of blockchain and cryptocurrency, particularly focusing on compliance with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) established by the European Union. She explains the challenges faced by blockchain companies operating across multiple European legal jurisdictions. She highlights how MiCA helps to establish a common crypto and blockchain regulatory footing across those jurisdictions in a way that provides some legal clarity for businesses operating across most of Europe.

The conversation also explores the relationship between MiCA and national regulations within each of those jurisdictions (e.g., Germany, UK, Switzerland, etc.), with Baseley emphasizing MiCA's broader scope and potential to supersede country-specific regulations (of which there are many). Additionally, the discussion touches on the implications of regulatory developments in Europe for the global blockchain industry, particularly regarding competition with the United States. Whereas MiCA and certain country-specific regulations are in place in Europe, many organizations in the US are still in a holding pattern when it comes to their blockchain projects because the sort of legal clarity that exists in Europe has yet to take shape in the US.

However, Baseley doesn't necessarily agree that America's trailing regulatory developments will undermine its international competitiveness in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. She points out how, even though US lawmakers are well behind their European counterparts when it comes to ratifying blockchain-related regulations, everyone still wants and needs access to the highly lucrative US market (perhaps more so than other international markets). In other words, she thinks it's likely that the US will catch up to other crypto-friendly international jurisdictions once its laws and regulations are in place, no matter how long it takes.

To watch the video version of this podcast or read its full-text transcript, go to:

https://blockchainjournal.com/interview/european-blockchain-lawyer-us-will-catch-europe-once-americas-crypto-laws-take-shape

The video can also be watched on Blockchain Journal's YouTube Channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51whIMZ8Dqo

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