PwC: “This year marks the first full year of the global rollout of crypto-asset regulation”

Global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has assessed this year as the first in which crypto-asset (cryptocurrency) regulations are implemented in earnest worldwide.

According to CoinDesk, a crypto-focused media outlet, PwC said in a recently published report on crypto-asset regulation that “crypto-asset regulation is no longer confined to the discussion stage and has entered a phase of actual enforcement and application.”

The report said that “this year will be defined less by whether to introduce regulation and more by the effectiveness of enforcement and the speed of institutionalization,” adding that “countries with clear legal frameworks will be well positioned to attract the crypto-asset industry and capital.”

PwC cited the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, the GENIUS Act under discussion in the United States, and the crypto-asset market structure bill (the CLARITY Act) as representative examples. These regimes were assessed as providing clearer rules for stablecoins, exchanges and issuers, helping bring market access within the regulatory perimeter.

PwC also noted that while companies and market participants will shoulder greater compliance burdens, they will also face opportunities such as expanded participation by institutional investors and stronger linkages with traditional finance. The analysis said that greater regulatory clarity can enhance trust in the crypto-asset industry and, over the longer term, accelerate inflows of institutional capital.