This incisive and thought-provoking book examines the regulation of cryptocurrency trading by state and federal financial services regulators in the US, in order to understand why these statutes proved to be ineffective in regulating this new asset class. It further analyzes and evaluates pending proposals in Congress for more effective cryptocurrency regulation.
Providing a sector-by-sector exploration of the financial services industry, the book delves into the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies, highlighting the flaws in its jurisdictional claims, as well as the exclusion of "actual delivery" contracts from Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction and how this applies to cryptocurrencies. The chapters chart the invention and rise of cryptocurrencies, fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market, and the regulation of cryptocurrencies under banking laws, the Federal Securities Laws, and as 'commodities'. In addition, it reviews the application of banking and money transmitter regulations to cryptocurrency trading platforms and proposes a bespoke regulator structure for cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency Regulation: A Primer is an essential resource for students and scholars of economics, finance and banking law, and internet and technology law. It will also be beneficial for financial services professionals, regulators, and members of the financial press.
Industry Reviews
'Professor Markham brings his expertise on existing banking, securities, and derivatives law to explain why each is ill-suited to optimally regulate the issuance and secondary trading of assets via blockchain technology. In so doing, he lays out a path forward that better balances competing interests in protecting the public and allowing innovation.' -- Kevin Haeberle, University of California Irvine School of Law, US
'Because they don't fit neatly into pre-existing legal paradigms, cryptocurrencies continue to vex lawmakers, financial regulators, dealers, and investors. Luckily, Jerry Markham has a unique blend of deep expertise in banking, commodities, and securities markets and he brings all three to bear in Cryptocurrency Regulation: A Primer. The book fills an important gap because it comprehensively examines the extent to which cryptocurrencies are, for legal purposes, money, securities, commodities, or some other kind of digital claim. As a result, this is the best scholarly resource available about the financial, legal, and regulatory issues raised by cryptocurrencies. By crystalizing these debates, the book also helps to advance a nuanced understanding of these products as they continue to evolve. Though styled as a "primer," the book is also an excellent financial history of cryptocurrencies, a treatise on the relevant legal doctrine, and a critical assessment of alternative regulatory approaches for these products, virtues that will make it a classic in the field.' -- Jose Gabilondo, Florida International University, US
'Readers of Markham's primer will be able to confidently enter into the debate about how and why cryptocurrencies should be regulated. Markham leaves no stone unturned in explaining the often paradoxical, contradictory, and enigmatic statutory and regulatory framework that is asked to govern cryptocurrencies.' -- Christian Johnson, Widener University Commonwealth Law School, US
