The advent of cryptoassets has raised many concerns with regulators. A range of responses have been taken across the globe, ranging from outright prohibition to creating bespoke regimes to house the assets. The main issues come down to the difference when dealing with a centralised v decentralised model.

This presentation will cover the areas that regulators are particularly concerned with: investor protection, privacy, anti-money laundering/combating terrorism financing (AML/CTF), currency leakage and cybersecurity.

When looking at investor protection. The common issues seem to be around how tokens are categorised and where they fit within the regulatory perimeter. While some ground has started to be made in categorisation, there is a growing interest in decentralised finance (DeFi) which is creating even greater concern for regulators.