2021 was a year that really shook up the cryptocurrency regulatory environment. After years of government inaction, governments around the world took a whole host of actions. These actions ranged from China's crypto mining ban to El Salvador being the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender and move to build an economy based around it. With all of this action tons of predictions have been made about what will happen this year. In the US Congress has been holding hearings but now we are hearing more and more about how other Central Banks and regulators will respond.

The Bad

Pakistan

Reports have recently come out saying the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is wanting to ban all cryptocurrency transactions in Pakistan. It is important to note that while the SBP has gone to the Sindh Hgh Court for the ban the Court instead sent the appeal to the finance and law ministries in Pakistan. These ministries will make the final decision but the entire Pakistani government has been hinting/pushing for a ban.

India's PM Modi

Prime Minister Modi spoke at the 20222 World Economic Forum's annual Davos conference and called for global cooperation to tackle the issues of crypto. Now the idea of all countries getting on the same page could be seen as a good thing however, the way that India is moving towards banning most cryptos isn't good for the blockchain. Furthermore, he likened crypto to supply-chain disruptions, inflation, and climate change.

In my personal opinion, he is pretty far off with his comparisons. The technology is disruptive but it has been a net positive disruption for many people who have had their standard of living revolutionized by this technology. I also do not see countries uniting together to fight inflation so I am not sure what he would hope to accomplish there. Cryptocurrency has also been moving in a very very green direction due to the heavy criticism it has received for its energy usage making me believe it should be encouraged with excess power being designed to be built for the public that way everyone wins. 

Iran and Kosovo

Both of these countries listed above have banned or at least severely limited mining in their countries. Both of them have labeled it as due to electricity usage. In Iran, the ban is until March 6th before it expires. The government hopes that this will give the grid some relief after a dry spring that has impacted hydropower electrical generation.

In Kosovo, it was also tied to shortages. in recent years the cheap power in the area provided by coal-fired power plants led to miners mining there. Currently, they are suffering from a coal shortage and a massive price increase. On top of that natural gas prices have shot up through the roof due to the supply chain crunch. This ban does not have an expiration date like the Iranian one.  

The Good

Tonga

Prior to the volcanic caused tsunami to hit the nation Lord Fusitu’a, a former lawmaker and member of Tongan nobility, announced a plan to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. Lord Fusitu’a continues to hold a huge influence on the nation's politics even though he is no longer part of it due to health issues. His plan follows right in the footsteps of what El Salvador has done including the usage of volcano-powered mining.

What does differ here is that Tonga is a much poorer nation with even less infrastructure that is needed. On top of that, the nation did just get his with a tsunami further damaging the infrastructure they do have. This means that the initial investments they thought they would need are going to be even more substantial and there could be hesitance for them to occur.

On the plus side, the country is accepting Bitcoin for relief and aid! Lord Fusitu’a has set up a wallet that people can donate to that is for the relief efforts. I just checked it at 6 pm EST and it had 0.24458634 BTC ($10,303.52) in it so the community is showing up and trying to help! The tsunami also does give the country the ability to build new and improved infrastructure that could be better suited for Bitcoin mining which would be huge! This story will be an interesting one to follow as this disaster while awful does allow for some good to happen!

Russia

In an interesting turn of events, the Russian National Finance Association has called for the legalization of crypto investments! Currently, the Russian Government and Bank of Russia are still opposed to the investment and participation of citizens in the crypto realm but due to the popularity, the NFA wants the government to bring it out of the gray zone it currently resides in and become both accessible and regulated. While regulation isn't thought of as a good thing it is an improvement over a ban! It is unknown if this call to change will be taken up by the government or ignored but it serves to show that government and national association views continue to evolve.

Brazil

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes has a goal for the city. He wants the city to become the cryptocurrency hub of Latin America. To do this he is looking to invest 1% of city reserves into Bitcoin! Even better is that the state is looking to add additional tax exemption for the industry to encourage movement to the area thus creating a hub! This is the most recent in a string of good news from proposed legislation for crypto as a payment option for public and private sector workings to the December rollout of MercadoPago in Brazil where Brazilian citizens can buy, sell, and hold major cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

It is my hope to see continuous good news from all governments and international bodies about crypto. I know it won't be an easy road but it is exceptionally nice to see some major countries and big-name associations back the idea of crypto. 

Please know I am not a financial advisor I am just someone who picked up on a trend and wanted to express it! Makes sure you always do your own research and never invest money you cannot afford to lose! If you enjoyed this article and would like to further support me below are a couple of referral links that if you used when signing up I would appreciate it! Also, follow me on Twitter @Cje95_

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