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The year 2025 witnessed radical transformations in the global regulation of cryptocurrencies, as the United States took steps to ease regulatory restrictions, while the European Union strengthened its legislative framework. In the United States, the **Federal Reserve** announced the withdrawal of the 2022 and 2023 guidance that required banks to notify it in advance of cryptocurrency activities, replacing it with flexible supervisory processes that support innovation. President Trump also signed a law to repeal the expansion of the definition of "broker" by the IRS, exempting decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms from strict reporting requirements.
On the other hand, the European Union fully implemented the **Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA)** regulation in December 2024, with a transitional period of up to 18 months for some countries. MiCA focuses on the classification of stablecoins such as **E-Money Tokens (EMT)** and **Asset-Referenced Tokens (ART)**, requiring sufficient reserves and transparency in issuance, under the supervision of the European Banking Authority (EBA). It also mandated platforms to implement the "travel rule" to combat money laundering by exchanging sender and receiver data.
In the American context, the **Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)** announced the closure of its investigations against platforms like Robinhood and Coinbase, and decided that "meme coins" are not considered securities, which reduced legal pressures on emerging projects. Additionally, the commission canceled the accounting guidance SAB 121, allowing banks to provide cryptocurrency custody services without accounting for them as liabilities, encouraging traditional institutions to enter the market.
Despite these facilitation measures, the Trump administration banned the development of **Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)**, citing privacy concerns, while allowing private stablecoins to operate under stricter conditions. In contrast, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) warned investors about the limited legal protection compared to traditional financial products, especially during the transitional period.
These developments showcase a contradiction in the global approach: between an American openness that supports innovation with partial protection, and a unified European framework focusing on financial stability. In the future, these policies may attract fintech projects to the United States, while Europe enhances investor confidence through transparency.
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These changes reflect an attempt to balance encouraging innovation and avoiding systemic risks, amidst ongoing debate about their long-term impact on the decentralized finance sector.