PwC: 2025–26 Global Crypto Regulation Moves from Policy to Implementation
PwC says global crypto regulation is moving from draft proposals to concrete implementation across 2025 and into 2026. Key near-term milestones include the full roll-out of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime in 2025, advancing U.S. bills (eg. GENIUS and CLARITY), and completed or maturing frameworks in major Asian hubs such as Singapore and Japan. Parallel work by bodies like the Financial Stability Board aims to harmonize cross-border rules on stablecoins, custody, capital and reporting. The shift should accelerate institutional adoption — banks offering custody, asset managers launching regulated products, and payment/clearing integrations — while countries compete to attract crypto capital through clearer licensing regimes. PwC warns of persistent frictions: uneven AML standards, divergent tax and licensing rules, and substantial compliance, operational and tech upgrades for firms. Traders can expect clearer market structure and greater institutional liquidity over the medium term, but transitional risks remain: short-term volatility around implementation deadlines, enforcement actions and jurisdictional fragmentation. Demand for regtech, legal advisory and consulting services is likely to rise as firms prepare for enforcement and harmonized standards.
Neutral
The move from policy to implementation across 2025–26 is structurally positive because clearer, harmonized rules reduce legal uncertainty and encourage institutional participation — which tends to increase liquidity and market depth. That supports a constructive medium-to-long-term outlook for crypto markets. However, the transition brings short-term downside risks: enforcement actions, uneven international implementation, and deadline-driven volatility can trigger rapid price swings. Compliance costs and potential restructuring could temporarily pressure some firms. Taken together, these opposing forces make the immediate price impact uncertain: improved fundamentals (bullish) are balanced by transitional disruptions (bearish), so the net classification is neutral. Traders should expect increased institutional flows and improved market structure over months to years, but amplify risk management around regulatory milestones, cross-border rulings and enforcement news in the short term.