#CryptoRegulation The growth of speculative investment cryptocurrency into a new asset class has led governments around the world to explore ways to regulate it. As of September 2024, some governments have created frameworks to provide protection to users, while others are waiting for their moment.

The United States announced a new framework in 2022 that opened the door to greater regulation. The new directive empowered existing market regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The SEC is already regulating the sector, as evidenced by its extensive list of lawsuits against businesses and projects focused on cryptocurrencies, including lawsuits and complaints against Ripple, Coinbase (COIN), Binance (BNB), and many others for their cryptocurrency products and services.

However, in 2023, an appeals court decided that Ripple's sale of XRP was a security offering only when sold to institutions, not when sold on exchanges. This was a partial victory for the cryptocurrency industry; it was followed by another ruling in November that overturned the Commission's denial of Grayscale's request to convert its Bitcoin ETF Trust into an ETF that holds bitcoin. The court ordered the Commission to review the application again, which ultimately led to the approval of the first Bitcoin Spot ETFs in January 2024 and Ethereum Spot ETFs in July 2024.

The ongoing struggle between regulators, broker-dealers, investors, and the cryptocurrency industry shows that the United States is still evolving, regardless of the frameworks introduced and the powers granted to regulators.