The government`s stance on cryptocurrency is attracting interest from investors looking to take advantage of Gibraltar`s advanced regulatory environment. In 2022, blockchain company Valereum announced plans to set up a cryptocurrency exchange in the region and bought a 90% stake in the Gibraltar Stock Exchange. If sanctioned by Gibraltar`s Financial Services Commission, the move would pave the way for fully regulated exchanges in fiat and digital currencies. As the use of cryptocurrencies increases, so do the cryptocurrency regulations around the world that are put in place to regulate them. The crypto landscape is constantly changing and it is not easy to follow the rules in the different global territories. Cryptocurrency exchanges are legal in the United States and fall under the regulatory scope of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). In practice, this means that cryptocurrency exchange service providers must register with FinCEN, implement an AML/CFT program, maintain proper records, and submit reports to authorities. Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that it considers cryptocurrencies to be securities and broadly applies securities laws to digital wallets and exchanges. In contrast, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has taken a more user-friendly « Do No Harm » approach, which describes Bitcoin as a commodity and allows for public trading of cryptocurrency derivatives.

Currently, India does not prohibit or allow investments in the cryptocurrency market. In 2020, the Supreme Court of India had explicitly lifted the ban on crypto-currencies imposed by the Reserve Bank of India. [85] [86] [87] [88] Since then, cryptocurrency investment has been considered legitimate, although there remain uncertainties about the scope and payment of the resulting income tax, as well as the regulatory system. However, it is envisaged that the Indian Parliament will soon pass a specific law to ban or regulate the cryptocurrency market in India. [89] A prominent public policy lawyer and vice president of SAARCLAW (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Law), Hemant Batra, expressed his public opinion on the Indian cryptocurrency market to a well-known online publication that « the cryptocurrency market has now become very important with the involvement of billions of dollars in the market, It is now inaccessible and ruthless, that the government completely bans all types of cryptocurrency and their trade and investment. » [90] He discussed regulating the cryptocurrency market rather than banning it altogether. In this regard, he called for following IMF and FATF guidelines. The Autorité des marchés financiers (FMA) has warned investors that cryptocurrencies are risky and that the FMA does not monitor or regulate virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, or cryptocurrency trading platforms. [14]: 30–31 The European Union recognizes Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as crypto assets. It is not illegal to use Bitcoin within the EU; However, the European Banking Authority, the Union`s monetary regulator, has stated that activities related to crypto-assets are beyond its control and continues to warn the public and businesses about the risks of cryptocurrency. The peer-to-peer digital currency Bitcoin debuted in 2009, introducing the concept of decentralized funding to the world.

While tax authorities, law enforcement agencies, and regulators around the world are still debating how to control it, many consumers are wondering if they can legally use Bitcoin. Recent regulations include amendments to the PSA and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), which came into force in May 2020. The amendments introduced the term « crypto-asset » (instead of « virtual currency »), restricted the management of users` virtual money, and relaxed the regulation of crypto derivatives trading. Under the new rules, cryptocurrency custodial service providers (who do not sell or buy crypto assets) will be included in the scope of the PSA, while transactions derived from cryptocurrency will fall within the scope of FIEA. Bitcoin miners were arrested by law enforcement, but in January 2018, Carlos Vargas, the government`s cryptocurrency superintendent, said: « This is an activity that is completely legal now. We have had meetings with the Supreme Court to ensure that people who have been victims of seizures and arrests in recent years will dismiss the charges. [56] The Congressional Law Library`s Global Legal Research Directorate (GLRD) recently updated a more comprehensive 2018 report from the Library of Congressional Law on cryptocurrency regulation around the world. The update adds the United States to the jurisdictions studied.

We are happy to share with you this research, Regulation of cryptocurrency around the world: November 2021 update. The report consists of a table of responsibilities with citations and two cards that visually represent the results of the table. It revolves around two themes. First, the legal status of cryptocurrencies, i.e. whether a country explicitly or implicitly bans cryptocurrencies. Examples of implied prohibitions include banning banks and other financial institutions from exchanging cryptocurrencies or providing services to individuals or businesses trading cryptocurrencies. Secondly, the table shows the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, in particular the application of tax laws and anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT laws) to cryptocurrencies. Despite a large number of cryptocurrency investors and blockchain companies in the US, the country has yet to develop a clear regulatory framework for the asset class.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) generally considers cryptocurrency as a security, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) refers to Bitcoin (BTCUSD) as a commodity and Treasury as a currency. Crypto exchanges in the United States fall within the regulatory scope of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and must register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).