Regulation and the Future of Blockchain: Which Approach Will Succeed?
By Judie Rinearson · 2019
One memorable moment at Money2020 USA in 2018 was when Sopnendu Mohanty, the influential Chief Fintech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, was asked to give one-word replies during his interview. Mohanty's comment on blockchain flies in the face of those who have argued that the blockchain has become over-hyped and cannot live up to the buzz that surrounds it. Yes, there is no question that the blockchain has been hyped, but this is still early days and the good news is that the significant opportunities presented by the blockchain or, more appropriately, distributed ledger technology, are now being realized around the world. As a lawyer, one concern the author has is the impact of premature regulation. From the author's review of global regulatory trends, there are four distinctly different regulatory approaches: early and distrustful regulation; initially open but with later regulation; welcoming regulation; and absent or prohibitive regulation.