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Introduction

2018 has been a really turbulent year for cryptocurrency as a result of attack by the government in the form of imposition of regulations, financial institutions attack to ban to stop purchase of btc with credit cards
, Facebook ban on cryptocurrency ads , Media attacks, spreading of fud and most recently, the crackdown by imf and possible ban by Google in regards to ads . This has caused crypto to become bearish (causing a downtrend) in the prices of cryptocurrency.

The right regulations would benefit the cryptocurrency industry and the blockchain community as a whole because they would eliminate bad actors, protect investors’ interests, and encourage free trading, according to Zachary Piester, co-founder and chief development officer of Bitcoin and Ethereum venture studio Intrepid Ventures

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Establishment of a proper and effective regulatory framework could help minimise uncertainties surrounding cryptocurrrencies, prevent or avoid money laundering and illlegal activities and Financial crimes, also if implemented will drive more robust investment leading to increased adoption.

However, creation of an effective regulatory framework may be easier said than done.

Reduced Uncertainty

A carefully designed regulation could help remove some of the uncertainty surrounding digital currencies.

Just like in the case of Japan, Japan's Government has announced that bitcoin is a legal money See here

Other countries are looking set to follow the same path e.g like the U.S See here

Increase in Mass Adoption

One of the barriers to mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency is lack of regulation. Healthy regulation could lead to mass adoption and settle the issues of price volatility as a result of increase in demand to supply, the market will be stable, panic level will reduce and there will safe participation in cryptocurrency.

Prevent or Avoid money laundering Illegal activities and Financial crimes:

Study Suggests 25 Percent of Bitcoin Users Are Associated With Illegal Activity.

The imposition of healthy regulation will greatly prevent money laundering, financial crimes and illegal activities. It will be very easy to track down fraudulent users such drugs users and criminals thanks to the blockchain technology and imposition of certain measures like KYC and AML.

Like for Example, what was done in South Korea and China, What the government actually did was to ban illegal trading activities. What this means is that cryptocurrency investors had to pass through a thorough KYC (know-your-clients) and AML (anti-money laundering)

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Closing Remark

There should be cooperate by governments with the crypto community if they seek to maximize their benefits of cryptocurrency instead of imposing bans or heavy-handed rules.

The reality is, no government could impose a total ban or fully regulate cryptocurrency trading, but a form regulation or measure is needed for the survival of cryptocurrencies.