The Challenges Ahead For Cryptocurrencies

Technology

Greater government regulation of blockchain technology may bring more structure and stability to the crypto sector | Content partnership

Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies. The blockchain.

Much ado about nothing, you might think: high-falutin’ concepts, technologists masquerading as businesspeople, a hair’s breadth from the edge – as evidenced by the gauntlet being walked by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

And undoubtedly some elements of the crypto world are falling on hard times, with the price of Bitcoin alone less than half of what it was 12 months ago, and a series of catastrophes – from the implosion of Terra to the FTX scandal – knocking the credibility of this enormous, but still-fledgling industry.

READ MORE:
* Explainer: cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency exchanges
* Cryptocurrency’s quest for legitimacy

But the future isn’t as bleak as some might have you think: greater regulation – which seems inevitable – may bring more structure and stability.

New applications of the blockchain are emerging on what feels like a daily basis, from the evolving Non-Fungible Token landscape to decentralised finance; from social media tokens to the nebulous Metaverse.

Bell Gully Special Counsel Campbell Pentney sits down with Newsroom to discuss what the short- and mid-term future of crypto looks like; how governments manage the tricky process of regulating technologies whose very point is to transcend borders and cut out the middle-man; and the challenges these technologies face in being integrated into mainstream society and sensibilities.

Read Bell Gully’s report The Big Picture: Blockchain and Cryptocurrency for more information.

Bell Gully is a foundation partner of Newsroom