Key Insights
- Blockchain regulation in 2025 focuses less on the technology itself and more on crypto applications such as digital assets, stablecoins, and DeFi.
- Global regulators are prioritizing anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, consumer protection, and financial market integrity in blockchain oversight.
- The UK FCA crypto rules and Market Abuse Regime for Cryptoassets (MARC) set out transparency, disclosure, and market manipulation standards.
- In the US, the Genius Act on stablecoin laws introduces the first nationwide regulatory framework, though critics highlight limited consumer safeguards.
- Crypto regulation 2025 is trending toward international alignment, reducing fragmented laws while still fostering blockchain innovation.
- Governments are increasingly moving to integrate cryptocurrency into mainstream financial regulation, shifting from ad hoc oversight to structured frameworks.
- The London Blockchain Conference 2025 will spotlight global crypto regulation, stablecoin policy, and the future of blockchain law.
While there’s traditionally been a preconception of blockchain as a free-for-all, the reality is a little more complicated. Although blockchain doesn’t come under direct regulation, there are various rules and items of legislation that relate to applications such as cryptocurrency.
Keen to give some clarity ahead of the London Blockchain Conference, we look at the legal discourse surrounding the digital currency in this article. Read on as we explore laws and regulations specific to blockchain in 2025.
Blockchain Law – A Basic Overview
Trustworthy, reliable, and future-ready, blockchain technology takes the form of a digital ledger that’s spread across a peer-to-peer linked network of computers. Each transaction is digitally recorded and added to a sequence that’s almost impossible to alter.
Is blockchain legal and regulated?
As mentioned, blockchain isn’t directly regulated yet. However, it is legal in many countries, with a growing and evolving set of rules specific to the technology’s use for digital assets, financial services, and beyond.
Evolution and Emergence of Blockchain Regulatory Issues
International governments and regulators have tended to take a cautious approach to blockchain. The focus has mainly been on the ways that cryptocurrencies are used and traded, rather than on the technology itself.
Some countries have explored governmental applications, focusing on transparency and efficiency in public services. Others have addressed cryptocurrency in terms of risk management, prioritising anti-money-laundering.
There’s been a focus on consumer safeguarding, with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) registering crypto firms under AML rules and warning about the risks associated with crypto investments.
Cryptocurrency security has also been seen as a key issue in the US, with trading companies requiring transmitter licenses for operation in many states.
Recognising the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies, particularly in the form of stablecoins and decentralised finance (DeFi), the international regulators have stepped up the levels of scrutiny. However, attempts have been made not to stifle innovation in the fast-moving sector.
The Current State of Cryptocurrency Regulation
There’s increasing clarity over the regulatory landscape for digital assets as we move into the final quarter of 2025. Governments and regulators are taking a more proactive approach in establishing frameworks expected to shape the future of the industry. This is being prompted by attempts to gain clearer guidance and challenge the legal authorities.
European Blockchain Regulations
In the EU, blockchain regulation is largely shaped by the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB), with the Market in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) providing the main framework and national regulators responsible for enforcement. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) takes the lead in overseeing crypto assets, supported by HM Treasury and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which focus on adapting and extending existing financial rules.
Blockchain Law In the UK
In the UK, the Labour government has reconfirmed its intention to support the cryptocurrency industry. This has involved a pledge by the Economic Secretary to continue with the previous government’s regulatory proposals. It will mean bringing such assets under the scope of the mainstream financial regulatory authorities.
The Labour government has also committed to secondary legislation, allowing the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to set clear and enforceable rules for companies operating in the sector. Such proposals have been outlined in the FCAs crypto roadmap, including measures to protect consumers and prevent reckless investments.
Due diligence and admissions procedures have also been set out in the FCA’s most recent discussion paper. These procedures will make it a legal requirement for issuers to provide detailed admission documents, meet transparency requirements, and disclose key risks and governance mechanisms.
The FCA paper also outlines the establishment of the Market Abuse Regime for Cryptoassets (MARC), prohibiting insider dealing, market manipulation, and unlawful disclosure of inside information. The intent is to improve the UK cryptocurrency market integrity and ensure the alignment of standards with international benchmarks.
US Blockchain Regulations
US agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) continue to have a bearing on the setting and enforcement of international standards. However, a more relaxed approach is being taken under President Trump, with less regulatory scrutiny of digital assets.
The President has also had a key role in the passing of the first major national cryptocurrency legislation for the US, establishing a regulatory regime for the trading of stablecoins, which are backed by assets as reliable as the dollar.
Named the Genius Act, this is one of three proposed cryptocurrency legislation items in the US. The intention is to ensure clarity over the rules as more advanced payment systems are developed. There is some hope that it will encourage the more widespread adoption of the digital currency.
It is expected that consumers will have more confidence in the trading of stablecoins, given the backing of the US dollar and other low-risk assets. However, the Genius Act has come under criticism due to its legitimisation of stablecoins with a lack of consumer protection.
The other two items of proposed legislation would effectively prevent the US central bank from setting up a digital currency and a regulatory framework for other kinds of cryptocurrency.
What to Expect at the London Blockchain Conference
With the intention of decoding the way legal frameworks shape blockchain’s future, such international laws and regulations will be in focus at the London Blockchain Conference. From the roll-out of crypto-assets regulation to the potential for global alignment, you can expect valuable expert insights at this year’s event.
Register for your tickets today and prepare to learn more about the regulations shaping the future of the blockchain sector.
