The cryptocurrency market continues to grow despite its extreme volatility. After years of speculative booms and sudden crashes, governments around the world have placed regulation at the centre of the debate. Some present it as a necessary protection for small investors; others as a strategy to protect the traditional financial system from an uncomfortable competitor.

After more than a decade of existence, cryptocurrencies have demonstrated their disruptive potential on monetary policy and state control of money. Thanks to blockchain technology, they offer a more transparent, decentralised and inflation-resistant system, as most limit the issuance of new units. However, their Achilles heel remains volatility: an obstacle that makes it difficult for tokens to serve as a stable medium of exchange.

Today, crypto assets are no longer a marginal product. They have become investment instruments, hedges against weak currencies and, in some countries, even legal tender, such as Bitcoin in El Salvador or USDT in emerging countries. However, this expansion has also opened the door to fraud, manipulation and money laundering, which has accelerated the response from regulators.

A difficult market to control

Supervising the crypto world is, quite simply, a colossal challenge. The term crypto asset encompasses thousands of projects, tokens, and protocols with very different uses: from payment systems to decentralised applications, stablecoins, and NFTs. Most operate in global environments, without clear boundaries and with anonymous or decentralised actors.

For regulators, this means monitoring a global ecosystem with no central headquarters, in which miners, developers and intermediaries often escape traditional financial regulation. While countries such as Switzerland and Japan already have specific legal frameworks in place, others, such as the United States and the European Union, are still debating what limits to impose without stifling innovation.

The European and Catalan legal framework

In Europe, the major step forward has been the approval of the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) Regulation, in force since June 2023, which establishes for the first time a single legal framework for crypto-assets within the EU. MiCA requires all service providers — exchanges, custodians or token issuers — to obtain a regulated licence and provide transparent information to customers.

In Spain, its implementation is being coordinated with the Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). At the same time, Law 11/2021 on the prevention of tax fraud already requires platforms to report their customers’ transactions to the Tax Agency, and Royal Decree 7/2021 establishes an official register for exchange and custody service providers.

These measures pave the way, but they also raise questions: to what extent do they protect investors or reinforce state control over digital money?

Risks for small investors

Despite their growing popularity, cryptocurrencies remain a high-risk investment. Market volatility, technological complexity and a lack of transparency in some projects have led to millions in losses. In addition, many platforms operate from tax havens or jurisdictions without legal safeguards, making it difficult to protect users from scams or loss of access to digital wallets.

Classifying cryptocurrencies as investment products subject to consumer protection rules — as proposed by the CNMV — could provide greater security. But it could also limit access and the decentralised nature that has made the crypto world a laboratory for financial freedom.

Disparate regulations and side effects

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that regulatory priorities differ from country to country: while some emphasise investor protection, others focus on the integrity of the financial system. China, for example, has directly banned mining and cryptocurrency transactions, while countries such as Singapore and the United Arab Emirates seek to attract capital with favourable regulations.

These differences lead to what experts call regulatory arbitrage: companies and platforms migrating to where laws are more lax, while maintaining a global reach thanks to the Internet. The result? Unequal competition and a constant risk of global technological relocation.

Towards a global framework?

Faced with this fragmentation, the IMF, and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) are calling for coordinated global regulation that guarantees legal certainty without stifling innovation. The aim is to establish clear limits and common standards to prevent abuse, but without undermining the open and decentralised nature of blockchain technology.

However, many experts warn that overly strict regulation could turn cryptocurrencies into an extension of the financial system they sought to challenge, transforming a tool for economic freedom into yet another instrument of monetary surveillance and control.

Between control and freedom

The big question is whether regulation will serve to empower citizens or limit their financial sovereignty. At a time when central banks are preparing their own digital currencies (CBDCs), the line between protection and control is thinner than ever.

Cryptocurrencies were created to challenge a system that concentrates the power of money. Regulating them can bring security and confidence, but it can also erase their original spirit. As always, the key is not whether it is necessary to regulate them, but how: with criteria of transparency and accountability, or with the desire to control what cannot be stopped.

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