Even the Smartest Investors Fall for Crypto FOMO
Regulation is coming. Freewheeling trading venues will have to adjust to a less hospitable world — and so will those throwing them money.
FOMO?
Photographer: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images EuropeOne of cryptocurrency’s spiritual forebears, Timothy C. May, predicted in the 1990s that untraceable digital cash would allow online casinos, bank secrecy and money laundering to flourish. Although laws would be dodged, he said, the individual anonymity and freedom would be worth it — at least, until the inevitable government backlash.
This cycle is playing out almost three decades later, as regulators take a fresh crack at the $2.4 trillion crypto sector that’s ballooned largely out of their reach. Crypto executives were grilled by U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday after a series of probes and fines into trading platforms amid a post-Covid digital gold rush. The bosses acknowledged the need for more oversight but warned that draconian rules would chase firms overseas.