The chief strategy officer of publicly traded digital asset manager CoinShares, Meltem Demirors, has urged the cryptocurrency industry to embrace regulations and organize its affairs.
She asserted on the Chain Reaction podcast that the rivalry among the crypto market participants — particularly between self-proclaimed “Bitcoin maximalists” and strong supporters of other blockchains — needs to end.
Demirors pointed out that the industry is not benefitting from this polarization. This is due to the fact that as the asset class becomes more well-known, the “ideological fervor behind crypto” will also change.
While several market participants initially flocked to Bitcoin out of distrust for the government and a desire to gain control over their funds, crypto has a lot more complex use case nowadays.
“It involves policy, it involves institutions and involves education and a lot of other complex cultural and societal factors. I think we still haven’t hit that major inflection point. And I think it will probably take some time to materialize,” remarked Demirors.
Demiror seems to not be the only prominent figure in the crypto industry to think this way. Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of Binance and FTX respectively, have each emphasized that it is important to work together with regulators in order for crypto and blockchain technology adoption to become more widespread.
Regulators are becoming increasingly interested in the asset class, and the crypto business becoming more receptive to regulations. Financial watchdogs and market authorities have started drafting regulations to contain the crypto market and industry’s excesses.
According to Bloomberg, the European Union has finalized agreements on its Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) laws, which will govern the industry across 27 countries. For token issuers, VASPs and stablecoins, these regulations will offer regulatory clarity when they take effect in 2024.
While the comprehensive crypto regulations are being considered by Congress in the U.S., the SEC has urged market participants to adhere to the existing security laws. SEC chair Gary Gensler recently made repeated remarks that crypto businesses must register their operations with the SEC.
