Regulation: a little, a lot, passionately? – THE subject of this year 2022 was probably thearrival of regulation in the crypto universe. A set of European directives that crypto startups and investors will have to comply with in the coming years. After avoiding the subject for many months, the co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, jumps into the water. Here is his opinion on the thorny issue of crypto regulation!
Regulation, when you hold us
A cage ready to curb innovation in the sector? Or a springboard preparing a tidal wave of adoption by the crowds? Which side the regulation Will it tip the scales? As nothing is ever either all white or all black, it is likely that we are witnessing an in-between. Vitalik Buterin took up the subject on Twitter on October 30, in a thread detailed.
The co-founder ofEthereum first highlighted the quest for institutionalization of the sector desired by many investors. Indeed, the latter very often only hope for one thing: that the massive capital inflows professionals are pouring into the sector to pump their favorite crypto. For Vitalik, this is not a good thing:
“I’m even quite happy that a lot of ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) are delayed. »
ETFs are exchange-traded funds that seek to replicate the value and performance of a given index. In this case, BTC and ETH.
For Vitalik, especially in these lean times, regulation should let the crypto ecosystem act freely, even if it makes the task of attracting the general public more complex for projects. Indeed, according to him, a aggressive regulation who would now seek to penetrate deep into the internal mechanisms of crypto, often still in the draft stage, is not desirable.
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A regulation ready to nip any crypto initiative in the bud?
To regulate without trying to understand, it is possible that Europe deprives itself of the giants of tomorrow. This maxim is so obvious, all the more so with the experience of our bitter failure during the switch to the internet, that it is a pity to have to repeat it so often. L’absurdity from some regulatory axes considered is highlighted by Vitalik.
Europe regulates, hackers laugh
Typically, setting up a procedure KYC (Know Your Customer) systematic to all protocols Challenge (decentralized finance) seems unsuitable.
“It will annoy users without reaching hackers. Indeed, they interact directly with smart contracts, via code that they write themselves. »
Vitalik Buterin
On the other hand, positioning KYC at the exchange levelreal strongholds of liquidity, is a good idea to combat money laundering. But it’s already done on most of them.
Protection of crypto investors: Vitalik Buterin’s proposals
According to Vitalik, several smarter steps could be taken to better protect investors. Typically, limit leverage or request a transparency total audits carried out on the smart contracts of the protocols.
Conversely, imposing a KYC obligation from 1 euro transferred between anonymous wallets is ridiculous. But it is nevertheless the requirement at the TFR program (Regulation on fund transfers). According to Vitalik, the authorities should rather validate the use by the verification of a certain level of knowledge of the environment rather than imposing arbitrary financial limits.
Moreover, the boss of Ethereum would love for these regulations to be consistent with the zero knowledge proof technology. ZK Proofs indeed offer a framework to satisfy both the regulatory policy desired by governments and the privacy of users. In short, the best of both worlds.
As said Sean Parker to Mark Zuckerberg at the birth of Facebook, “We don’t even know yet what it represents, how it can grow and develop”. The same is true for crypto. No one dared to imagine the impact of NFTs on our world just two years ago. And at the time, DeFi was still an obscure term. Who can pretend today to guess what will be the revolutions uncovered next year or in two years? It is these revolutionary ideas that germinate in the well-made heads of adventurous startups that the regulationout of misunderstanding and stupidity, risk of trampling with his big shoes, nipping in the bud the development of “the internet of value” in Europe.
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