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Global Cryptoasset Regulatory Landscape Study

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Global Cryptoasset Regulatory Landscape Study GLOBAL CRYPTOASSET REGULATORY LANDSCAPE STUDY Apolline Blandin, Ann Sofie Cloots, Hatim Hussain, Michel Rauchs, Rasheed Saleuddin, Jason Grant Allen, Bryan Zhang, Katherine Cloud with the support of Disclaimer: Data for this report have been gathered from a substantial number of sources, including in-person interviews and desktop research for a large number of jurisdictions. While every reasonable effort has been made to verify the source and accuracy of the data collected, the research team cannot exclude potential errors and omissions. This report should not be considered to provide legal or investment advice. Opinions expressed in this report reflect those of the authors and not necessarily those of their respective institutions. TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORDS ..................................................................................................................................................5 RESEARCH TEAM ..........................................................................................................................................7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................9 METHODOLOGY AND REPORT STRUCTURE ..............................................................................10 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................................12 SECTION 1: KEY CONCEPTS ................................................................................................................. 14 1.1 Cryptoasset Nature and Form ....................................................................................................................................................................14 A short introduction to tokens ..............................................................................................................................................................................14 Lack of clear terminology .........................................................................................................................................................................................15 Determining definitional boundaries .................................................................................................................................................................16 Risk of conflating form and nature ......................................................................................................................................................................17 A multi-dimensional approach...............................................................................................................................................................................18 A note on cryptoasset ownership ........................................................................................................................................................................21 1.2 Token Creation, Initial Distribution, and Secondary Market Trading .........................................................................................23 Token creation ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................23 Initial token distribution (primary market) ......................................................................................................................................................24 Secondary market trading .......................................................................................................................................................................................25 1.3 Intermediated Activities ...............................................................................................................................................................................26 SECTION 2: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................30 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................................................30 2.2 Responsible Regulatory Authorities ........................................................................................................................................................30 Typology ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................30 Regulatory perimeter ................................................................................................................................................................................................32 Initial statements by regulators ............................................................................................................................................................................33 2.3 Terminology, Definitions, and Classifications .......................................................................................................................................34 What terms are regulators using? .......................................................................................................................................................................34 Many definitions share similar elements ..........................................................................................................................................................36 Bespoke regulatory classification frameworks .............................................................................................................................................36 2.4 Regulatory Processes .....................................................................................................................................................................................39 Consultations ................................................................................................................................................................................................................39 Information and knowledge sharing between regulators........................................................................................................................40 2.5 Regulatory Responses ...................................................................................................................................................................................41 Scope .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................41 Typology of regulatory response .........................................................................................................................................................................41 Regulated activities ....................................................................................................................................................................................................43 Self-regulation ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................46 Authorisation of cryptoassets ..............................................................................................................................................................................47 Regulatory sandboxes ...............................................................................................................................................................................................48 Enforcement actions ..................................................................................................................................................................................................49 SECTION 3: REGULATORY CHALLENGES ......................................................................................50 3.1 Mapping Cryptoasset Activities ................................................................................................................................................................50 Data availability and quality ...................................................................................................................................................................................50 Infrastructure providers: miners, developers, and nodes ........................................................................................................................50 Airdrops and forks.......................................................................................................................................................................................................51 Decentralised exchanges (DEXes) ......................................................................................................................................................................52 Privacy coins ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................53
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