U.S. vs. Europe: Who Is Winning the Race to Regulate Crypto?

For years, the U.S. vs. Europe crypto regulation race appeared to have a clear winner. While Europe worked on comprehensive rules, Washington debated whether its existing securities laws were sufficient. That situation is changing, however, as both sides are now nearing the completion of their regulatory regimes.

Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation is fully implemented now that the EU’s transition period officially ended on July 1. This means that crypto service providers generally need MiCA authorization to serve EU customers. Meanwhile, the U.S. has adopted federal stablecoin legislation and is now working towards comprehensive market-structure legislation in the form of the CLARITY Act.

Related: Trump Pushes CLARITY Act as Bitcoin Surges: Is Crypto Finally Getting the Rules It Needs?

The two sides are converging on slightly different advantages. Europe offers a higher degree of regulatory certainty and a single set of rules for all 27 member states. The U.S. provides more liquid markets and is actively rewriting its laws to promote the crypto industry.

Europe Had a Huge Head Start With MiCA

Europe’s greatest advantage in the crypto-regulation “race” versus the U.S. is that its rules already exist.