Bitcoin's Financial Success Masks Ongoing Regulatory Struggles

Seventeen years after its launch, Bitcoin's original promise to change the relationship between individuals, money, and the state appears increasingly complicated.

The cryptocurrency has grown from an obscure experiment into a global financial asset worth trillions of dollars, but one of its key promises, allowing individuals to exchange value directly without relying on traditional intermediaries, remains constrained by regulation.

Broadly speaking, the issue is not just whether Bitcoin should be regulated, but what kind of activity regulation should target. For some users, like those in countries with capital controls or currency instability, cryptocurrency has been a mechanism for moving or preserving value outside conventional systems.

However, for American users, buying and holding Bitcoin may look different from using it as a payment or exchange mechanism. This distinction became important as regulators developed their approach to cryptocurrency, focusing on intermediaries connecting cryptocurrency with conventional money.