Comparative Cryptocurrencies and Stablecoins Regulation: A Framework for a Functional Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The financial applications of the blockchain technology are gaining increasing attention in the regulatory sphere both for their growing relevance and for the several scandals and failures of the past months. The regulatory landscape is quickly and non-linearly evolving, resulting in the impossibility to capture a nitid snapshot of the international regulatory regime from a comparative perspective. Therefore, this chapter takes a functional approach, investigating the sources and dynamics of regulatory convergence and divergence in the area of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. The chapter focuses mostly, but not exclusively, on the regulatory regime of the EU, UK and US. This chapter adds to the literature on the regulation of crypto finance as it provides a functional framework to approach an area whose regulation is quickly evolving. Moreover, it also adds to the comparative law literature, looking at the sources and dynamics of divergence in the regulation of innovative technologies.

Keywords: cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, comparative law, Market in Crypto Asset Regulation, Financial Services and Markets Bill

JEL Classification: G23, K22, K23