G20 Crypto Regulations Could Unleash Real Blockchain Change

Jonathan M. Padilla is a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University where he wrote the dissertation "New Regulations for the New Economy: A Proposal for the G20 on the Regulation of Cryptocurrency," from which this article was adapted.

Among the topics covered was the regulation of cryptocurrency, which has attracted the growing attention of government regulators and political actors as blockchain adoption becomes more widespread and cryptocurrency markets gain a broader following.

The G20 has begun to intensely study ways to de-risk cryptocurrency markets and craft regulation that will not stifle the innovative potential of blockchain.

With central bankers and finance ministers slated to discuss cryptocurrency this summer in Argentina and with the full G20 to meet in late November, action or inaction here will impact cryptocurrency markets.

The G20, along with the FSB, provides the best opportunity for a global regulatory framework as they 1) convene the most relevant stakeholders and decision makers, 2) can craft a framework that is transnational in scope, and 3) are already studying cryptocurrencies and their impacts to a number of different fields.

Different nations have taken different approaches to the regulation of cryptocurrencies and related fields.

The simplest issue that the G20 and FSB can mediate is deciding on a working definition of cryptocurrency.

Increased regulation will not mean that blockchain and cryptocurrency projects die.

Such a framework by the G20 could be just the action required to help unleash the long-term creative potential and promise of blockchain.

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