Cryptocurrency
Sovereign Powers Could Be Key to Mass Crypto Adoption
As Coindesk reported, “Nation-states made a more substantive impact this year than the ten previous years of crypto combined. China’s statist approach, in particular, may prove to be a catalyst to the still elusive ‘mass adoption of crypto.’ “In the US, the SEC made headlines with several high-profile enforcements including EOS, Telegram, and kin, while federal lawmakers […]
As Coindesk reported, “Nation-states made a more substantive impact this year than the ten previous years of crypto combined. China’s statist approach, in particular, may prove to be a catalyst to the still elusive ‘mass adoption of crypto.’
“In the US, the SEC made headlines with several high-profile enforcements including EOS, Telegram, and kin, while federal lawmakers made their presence felt regarding Facebook’s Libra. FINCEN’s KYC/AML guidance factored prominently, and token sales and SAFT rounds slowed in 2019, driving much of the fundraising activity towards exchange platforms, causing a short blip of popularity in IEOs.
“Regulatory action may have caused deal flow to slow, U.S. entrepreneurs and investors say, even if Silicon Valley will continue to produce some of the most compelling innovation in blockchain. As the industry moves forward into bitcoin’s second decade, there will continue to be high-drama friction as we try to reconcile crypto-anarchist ideals of pseudonymous participation with long-standing regulations around securities, KYC/AML and money-transmission laws.
“We saw cross-border collaboration around the FATF enforcement recommendations, calling for exchanges to share customer information. But it remains to be seen whether this mandate will affect exchange activity or if it will drive a renaissance in decentralized exchange volume in 2020…”