Cryptocurrency Regulation: A Primer

This incisive and thought-provoking book examines the regulation of cryptocurrency trading by state and federal financial services regulators in the US, in order to understand why these statutes proved to be ineffective in regulating this new asset class. It further analyzes and evaluates pending proposals in Congress for more effective cryptocurrency regulation.

Providing a sector-by-sector exploration of the financial services industry, the book delves into the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies, highlighting the flaws in its jurisdictional claims, as well as the exclusion of “actual delivery” contracts from Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction and how this applies to cryptocurrencies. The chapters chart the invention and rise of cryptocurrencies, fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market, and the regulation of cryptocurrencies under banking laws, the Federal Securities Laws, and as ‘commodities’. In addition, it reviews the application of banking and money transmitter regulations to cryptocurrency trading platforms and proposes a bespoke regulator structure for cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency Regulation: A Primer is an essential resource for students and scholars of economics, finance and banking law, and internet and technology law. It will also be beneficial for financial services professionals, regulators, and members of the financial press.

Jerry W. Markham, Professor of Law, Florida International University College of Law at Miami, US