In 2019, we witnessed crypto regulations leave the domain of stuffy legal pontification and enter the realm of geopolitics (as a stuffy legal pontificator, I have mixed feelings about this). We saw President Trump tweet about crypto regulations, as well as powerful international organizations express their agenda on how crypto should be regulated. We saw bold, forward-looking moves from smaller nations play out, and crypto-schizophrenic China plant its flag somewhere on the cryptomoon, though we still don’t know on which side.
These actions illustrate the global regulatory landscape evolving along the contours of the legacy international financial order inherited from the 20th century. The “Insiders” — the U.S. and nations of Western Europe and the Pacific Rim — remain at the center of financial and trade systems, and are visibly curious about the developments surrounding crypto. However, it is also noticeable that they sense a longer-term threat in its disruptive nature.