Blockchain & Cryptocurrency regulation 2021

Another year has passed and virtual currency and other blockchain-based digital assets continue to attract the attention of policymakers across the globe. A lack of consistency in how policymakers are addressing concerns raised by the technology is a major challenge for legal professionals who practice in this area. Perhaps equally challenging is keeping up with the nearly infinite number of blockchain use cases. In 2017 and 2018, it was the ICO craze. In 2019, the focus shifted to security tokens. In 2020, decentralized finance (or DeFi) attracted over several billion dollars’ worth of investment. So, while ICOs are still being offered and several groups continue to pursue serious security token projects, we should expect DeFi to draw scrutiny from regulators, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Once again, legal practitioners will be left to counsel clients on novel issues of law raised by the application of laws and regulations enacted long before blockchain technology existed.