New Game, New Rules The Current and Upcoming Regulatory Framework for Crypto Exchange Platforms

Abstract

According to Forbes, there are nearly six hundred Crypto Exchange Platforms worldwide, populating the flourishing crypto asset market. Exchanges are now playing a crucial role for investors and consumers, who are increasingly using them to trade crypto assets. However, Authorities pointed out the new risks arising from this market, claiming the need to keep up the pace in the creation of a sound legal framework for crypto assets and the infrastructures in which they are exchanged, in order to mitigate them. In fact, the current regime foresees the adaptation of existing rules, which however rarely fits the new paradigm, leaving the vast majority of assets and providers unregulated. The need for a bespoke regime, in particular for Crypto Asset Service Providers, brought to the development of the Market in Crypto Assets Regulation as part of the Digital Finance Package which, together with a proposal for an Anti-Money laundering Package, represents a possible path toward the creation of a level playing field for market players, reducing potential risks for consumers while boosting the Single Market and the Capital Markets Union.