As an increasing number of people get involved with cryptocurrencies in some way, particularly retail rather than professional investors, regulators have taken a keen eye on the industry.
But it’s not just bitcoin they are looking at. The crypto-space has continued to develop with initial coin offerings (ICO).
The developments have brought a varied response from regulators across the world in a number of different areas. Each authority has looked at various parts of the crypto-world from mining to trading and assessed how they should be regulated. Here’s a quick breakdown of each of the areas regulators have been looking at.
Exchanges, trading and mining
Regulation around this relates to the way that cryptocurrencies are traded. There’s a big debate in several jurisdictions about how to classify cryptocurrencies. Are they commodities or securities? The way they are classed will determine how they are regulated under current laws. Some countries have moved to introduce new regulation in this area.