Despite the problems with cryptocurrency rates, sentiment in the coin industry remains resolute. This is supported by data on the proportion of bitcoins that have not moved for at least five years. As Glassnode analysts point out, we are talking about 25.12 percent of the total BTC in circulation, which means one in four bitcoins has been moving for at least five years.

Graph of the proportion of bitcoins that have not moved in five years

How to properly regulate cryptocurrencies?

The financier is calling for stricter oversight of cryptocurrencies, as well as the development of standards around stablcoins. Here’s his quote on the matter, published by news portal Cointelegraph.

We spend too much time on crypto. It’s an interesting industry, it has its own complex problems, but relative to other problems in banking and technology, we’re paying a lot of attention to cryptocurrencies.

We should note that one can disagree with this point of view. Still, the legislative framework for banks, equity markets and other related topics is not only developed, but remains quite relevant. At the same time, regulation of cryptocurrencies is sometimes done with regulations created decades ago. This is a particularly painful issue in analysing cryptocurrencies and defining them as securities or regular currencies, as regulators still fail to understand that crypto can be used quite successfully - and even on a daily basis.

Acting US Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Michael Hsu

Hsu explained that there are other areas that need to be focused on at the moment. These include fintech, which requires immediate supervisory measures for the sake of avoiding a “serious problem or crisis” due to the rampant development of the sector. Here’s his rejoinder.

The persistent preoccupation of think tanks with cryptocurrencies is starting to worry me. We are not wasting this time and attention on some other things.

Again, this kind of dislike of crypto seems counterintuitive given the pace at which the industry is developing and its popularity among ordinary people. One need only look at the market capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies, i.e. the product of each coin in circulation divided by its exchange rate, to illustrate the point. At the peak of the previous bull run in 2017-2018, the figure reached $831 billion. This time it jumped above 3 trillion, with even now at 914 billion. Clearly, coins are becoming more widespread, so they need to be paid attention.

A graph of the market capitalisation of the cryptocurrency industry since 2013

In other words, the expert sees too much hype in crypto, even from regulators. This would seem to be a positive thing – it means that the relevant authorities can go more in-depth on the intricacies of controlling the crypto industry. But there’s a downside here – based on the hype alone, regulators can also make bad decisions about digital assets and take them the wrong way.

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Government bodies have their own plans in China as well, with local representatives from research institutes calling for a pan-Asian digital currency that could compete with dollars in terms of global domination. The proposed digital currency would be pegged to the region’s 13 currencies, including the Chinese yuan, Japanese yen and South Korean won. The remaining ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would also join the alliance.

ASEAN member states

The researchers said the digital currency could be built on blockchain to ensure that no one country dominates and cooperation is independent. However, the main reason for the proposal is to reduce the region’s dependence on the US dollar, which would help ensure financial stability. However, there are many doubts about the implementation of such ambitious plans, and even more so with the use of blockchain.


We believe that cryptocurrencies are one of the fastest-growing areas of human activity today, so it needs as much attention as possible. In addition, regulators in some countries have failed over the years to develop a proper legal framework to deal with them, and that is certainly not an additional reason to be complacent. Michael Hsu's point of view therefore seems a little disconnected from reality.